self-taught

American  

[self-tawt] / ˈsɛlfˈtɔt /

adjective

1. having become as specified by teaching oneself, without the aid of formal education.

   She’s a self-taught photographer who sells her work online.

2. learned by oneself.

   Particularly impressive is his self-taught mastery of the guitar.

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self-taught British  

adjective

1. having learnt oneself without any external or formal instruction

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Etymology

Origin of self-taught

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

He said being self-taught often led him to question his ability as a chef, but he had felt proud to stand side-by-side with fellow contestants "with my head held high".

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Unusually, her unique production style, full of skittering breakbeats and sugar strand melodies, is entirely self-taught.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

Crane had about 72 employees in 2024 when Buhler, a self-taught engraver with his own stationery business in North Carolina, took an equity stake.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

But Berk, born in Houston and raised in conservative Mount Vernon, Mo., is a self-taught pro at identifying what isn’t working and doing everything possible to fix it, including in his own life.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2025

Though he was entirely self-taught, never learned Latin, and had scant understanding of Linnaean classifications, he was a prize plant collector, with an uncanny knack for finding and recognizing unknown species.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson