What does "self-help" mean?

The practice of bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others.

What is a synonym for "self-help"?

Common synonyms include: independence, personal development, self-improvement.

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The practice of bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others. uncountable
"a self-help book"
2
the act of helping or improving yourself without relying on anyone else wordnet
3
An act of redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions rather than through legal proceedings. uncountable
"self-help repossession"

"Five self-help books later, Sergey still had a terribly ineffective approach to management."

From self- + help.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.