Meaning & use
speak up for yourself
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
To express your opinions or defend your rights confidently, especially when others might disagree or ignore you.
Grammar: Used as an intransitive verb phrase; it does not take an object. You can say 'She spoke up for herself' but not 'She spoke up for herself the issue.'
Patterns
- speak up for yourself
- speak up for oneself
If you don't speak up for yourself, no one else will.
She finally learned to speak up for herself at work and got a promotion.
He was too shy to speak up for himself in the meeting.
Common combinations
- speak up for yourself
- You need to speak up for yourself when you feel you're being treated unfairly.
- learn to speak up for yourself
- The assertiveness course taught her to speak up for herself.
- speak up for oneself
- In some cultures, speaking up for oneself is seen as rude.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stand up for yourself
- Similar meaning, but often implies defending yourself against criticism or attack, not just expressing opinions.
- assert yourself
- More formal and general; it can mean speaking up but also acting confidently in other ways.
- speak out
- Means to publicly express an opinion, often about a social issue, not necessarily about your own rights.
Opposites
Commonly confused: speak up for yourself or speak for yourself?
speak up for yourself vs speak for yourself
This is a different phrase meaning 'express your own opinion, not everyone's'. It is often used to disagree: 'Speak for yourself—I liked the film.'
Practice
Choose the best completion: 'She was afraid to ___ at the meeting, so her ideas were never heard.'
Choose one answer.
'Speak up for herself' means to defend her own opinions or rights. 'Speak for herself' means to express her own opinion (not necessarily defending), and the other options are not standard phrases.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “speak up for yourself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.