To take care of yourself without relying on help from others.
To take care of yourself and not need anyone else to help you.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To manage one's own life, needs, or survival without help or support from others.
"When her parents moved abroad, she had to fend for herself for the first time."
Children need to learn to fend for themselves.
— Common expression widely cited in parenting literature; no single definitive source.
To find food, shelter, or resources by oneself in a survival or wilderness context.
"The hikers were stranded and had to fend for themselves until the rescue team arrived."
Always used reflexively with a matching pronoun: 'fend for myself/yourself/himself/herself/themselves'. The 'oneself' in dictionary citations is a placeholder. Common in contexts of independence, survival, and resilience. Has a slightly tough or self-reliant connotation.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "fend for oneself" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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