adjective
- having succeeded in life unaided: He is a self-made man.
- made by oneself.
adjective
- having achieved wealth, status, etc, by one’s own efforts
- made by oneself
adj.1610s, “made by oneself,” from self- + made. Self-made man first recorded 1832, American English; the sense is “having attained material success in life without extraneous advantages.”