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self-employed
[ self-em-ploid, self- ]
adjective
- earning one's living directly from one's own profession or business, as a freelance writer or artist, rather than as an employee earning salary or commission from another.
self-employed
adjective
- earning one's living in one's own business or through freelance work, rather than as the employee of another
Derived Forms
- ˌself-emˈployment, noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of self-employed1
Example Sentences
Thousands of drivers working for ride-hailing and food delivery app Bolt have won a legal claim to be classed as workers in the UK rather than self-employed.
He had no symptoms and was too busy with work as a self-employed decorator.
If you're self-employed, it enhances your ability to deliver better services.
His wife is a self-employed child minder and earns around £10,000 a year.
The increase, she found, reflected an increase in self-employed women, a combination of paid work and disguised unemployment, a situation where more people are employed than actually needed for a task, resulting in low productivity.
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More About Self-employed
What does self-employed mean?
Self-employed means earning one’s main income by getting paid directly for one’s work, such as by owning one’s own business, as opposed to being an employee and getting paid by an employer.
When people describe themselves as self-employed, it typically means that this is their primary way of earning income, and that they do it full-time—as opposed to working as an employee and doing freelance work on the side, for example.
The term self-employed is often used by and applied to people who consider themselves business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.
Self-employed is sometimes used to collectively refer to self-employed people, as in This program is intended to help the self-employed.
The state of being self-employed is self-employment.
Example: I love being self-employed—my boss is amazing.
Where does self-employed come from?
The first records of the word self-employed come from the late 1700s. Its base word, employ, ultimately derives from the Latin implicāre, meaning “to engage” (the word engage is sometimes used to mean “to hire” or “to employ”). The self part of the word is used in the same way in other words like self-governed and the more recently coined self-partnered.
Most people who are self-employed will tell you that it has its pros and cons. On the positive side, you’re your own boss. But it’s often a lot of responsibility and risk. People who are self-employed don’t get many of the benefits associated with being a full-time employee of a company or organization. Being self-employed doesn’t necessarily mean you work alone—many self-employed business owners employ other people.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to self-employed?
- employed (adjective)
- self-employment (noun)
What are some words that share a root or word element with self-employed?
What are some words that often get used in discussing self-employed?
How is self-employed used in real life?
Self-employed is often used in the context of one’s status as a worker, such as for tax purposes.
The benefit of being self-employed is that I don't have a manager that expects linear productivity output and there's no quarterly perf reviews.
— Evan You (@youyuxi) May 11, 2020
We’ve extended the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, allowing self-employed workers whose livelihoods have been affected by #coronavirus to claim a second and final grant in August.https://t.co/CHa4b5PVxT pic.twitter.com/NjQxFEPVSo
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) May 30, 2020
hoo boy just found out someone tried to get me 'fired' for posting bail fund links (I'm self-employed, suckas)
— Saladin Ahmed (@saladinahmed) June 2, 2020
Try using self-employed!
Is self-employed used correctly in the following sentence?
Filing taxes when you’re self-employed is tricky—you don’t have an employer keeping track of anything for you.
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