Meaning & use
fend for myself
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiom
To take care of yourself without help from anyone else, especially when you have to manage alone.
Grammar: Used with a reflexive pronoun that matches the subject: I had to fend for myself; she fends for herself.
Patterns
- fend for myself/yourself/himself/herself
- have to fend for yourself
- learn to fend for yourself
When I moved to London at eighteen, I had to fend for myself for the first time.
The kids were left to fend for themselves while their parents worked late.
After the storm, the villagers had to fend for themselves until help arrived.
phraseidiom
To find your own food and shelter, as an animal or person in a difficult situation.
Grammar: Often used about animals or people in the wild or after a disaster; still takes a reflexive pronoun.
Patterns
- fend for itself/themselves
- left to fend for themselves
The young birds leave the nest and must fend for themselves.
Without any supplies, the hikers had to fend for themselves in the mountains.
Common combinations
- have to fend for yourself
- Once you leave home, you have to fend for yourself.
- left to fend for themselves
- The puppies were left to fend for themselves.
- learn to fend for yourself
- Traveling alone taught me to fend for myself.
- able to fend for yourself
- By age ten, she was able to fend for herself.
Synonyms and how they differ
- look after yourself
- This is more general and can mean simply taking care of your health; fend for myself stresses doing it without help.
- stand on your own two feet
- This idiom emphasizes independence and maturity, often after a period of dependence; fend for myself can be more about immediate survival.
Opposites
Word family
- fend verb
- To defend yourself or push something away, as in fend off a blow.
- fend off phrasal verb
- To keep something or someone away, like fend off criticism.
Commonly confused: fend for myself or defend?
fend for myself vs defend
Defend means to protect someone or something from attack; fend for yourself means to manage alone without help.
Practice
When I was a student, I had to ___ for myself.
Choose one answer.
The phrase is 'fend for yourself', meaning to manage alone. 'Defend' means to protect, which doesn't fit here. 'Fend off' means to keep something away, and 'fend up' is not a phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fend for myself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.