Phrase guide

self-made man

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • sĕlf′mād′ măn
  • Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˌsɛlfˈmeɪ̯d mæn/
  • Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation, also: /ˌself-/
  • Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /-man/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˌselfˈmæɪ̯d mæn/
  • New-Zealand: /ˌselfˈmæɪ̯d mɛn/
  • Scotland: /ˌsɛlfˈmed man/
  • India: /ˌsɛ(ː)lfˈmeːɖ ma(ː)n/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A man who has achieved success by his own efforts, especially from a modest background.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.