fend for oneself

English

Verb

fendforoneself(third-person singular simple presentfends for oneself,present participlefending for oneself,simple past and past participlefended for oneself)

1. Totake careof oneself without help.

   After her mother passed away, she had to learn tofend for herself.

   • 2012,Christoper Zara,Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds,part 1, chapter 1,26:

     Clara's father, a trollish ne'er-do-well who spent most of his time in brothels and saloons, would disappear for days and weeks at a stretch, leaving Clara and her mother tofend for themselves.

Usage notes

• Often used in the phraseleave someone to fend for themselves(compareleave someone to their own devices).

Translations

to take care of oneself without help

• Dutch:zijn eigen boontjes doppen
• Finnish:huolehtiaitsestään,pitää huoltaitsestään
• Polish:radzić sobie(pl)impf,poradzić sobie(pl)pf
• Spanish:buscarse la vida