"under one's own steam" meaning in English

See under one's own steam in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

IPA: /ˌʌndə ˈwʌnz əʊn ˈstiːm/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˌʌndɚ ˈwʌnz oʊn ˈstim/ [General-American] Audio: En-au-under one's own steam.ogg
Rhymes: -iːm Etymology: A reference to the operation of a steam engine: see sense 1. Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} under one's own steam, {{en-PP}} under one's own steam
  1. (nautical, rail transport) Of the movement of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines (originally steam engines), rather than pulled or pushed by another vehicle. Categories (topical): Nautical, Rail transportation Translations (of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines): na vlastní pěst (Czech), omin voimin (Finnish), своим ходом (svoim xodom) (Russian), por sus propios medios (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-under_one's_own_steam-en-prep_phrase-S8E6oIqM Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 36 21 43 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 35 24 41 Topics: nautical, rail-transport, railways, transport Disambiguation of 'of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines': 75 13 12
  2. (idiomatic, figuratively)
    Using one's own resources; independently, unaided.
    Tags: figuratively, idiomatic Translations (using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided): na vlastní pěst (Czech), omin avuin (Finnish), omin voimin (Finnish), par ses propres moyens (French), своими силами (svoimi silami) (Russian), своим ходом (svoim xodom) (Russian)
    Sense id: en-under_one's_own_steam-en-prep_phrase-3XEC0MUp Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 36 21 43 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 35 24 41 Disambiguation of 'using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided': 21 47 32
  3. (idiomatic, figuratively)
    At one's own initiative; of one's own accord, unbidden, unprompted.
    Tags: figuratively, idiomatic Translations (at one’s own initiative — see also unbidden, unprompted): por sus propios medios (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-under_one's_own_steam-en-prep_phrase-N~VdqDmu Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 36 21 43 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 24 28 48 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 35 24 41 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 32 27 41 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 30 28 42 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 28 28 44 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 27 29 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 26 28 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 27 31 42 Disambiguation of 'at one’s own initiative — see also unbidden, unprompted': 21 27 52
{
  "etymology_text": "A reference to the operation of a steam engine: see sense 1.",
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "under one's own steam",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "under one's own steam",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "un‧der"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Nautical",
          "orig": "en:Nautical",
          "parents": [
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            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
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          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
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          "name": "Rail transportation",
          "orig": "en:Rail transportation",
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            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1915, Victor Appleton [pseudonym], “Almost an Accident”, in The Moving Picture Boys at Panama: Or Stirring Adventures along the Grand Canal, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 106:",
          "text": "Now the tug no longer moved under her own steam, nor had it been since coming alongside the wall of the central pier. For all vessels must be towed through the lock basins, and towed not by other craft, but by electric locomotives that run alongside, on top of the concrete walls.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 178:",
          "text": "By Tuesday evening the track had been cleared to the three snowbound engines, and the following day, under their own steam, they were moved away; the business of relighting their fires and raising steam in such conditions is better imagined than described.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Of the movement of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines (originally steam engines), rather than pulled or pushed by another vehicle."
      ],
      "id": "en-under_one's_own_steam-en-prep_phrase-S8E6oIqM",
      "links": [
        [
          "nautical",
          "nautical"
        ],
        [
          "rail transport",
          "rail transport"
        ],
        [
          "movement",
          "movement"
        ],
        [
          "locomotive",
          "locomotive#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "watercraft",
          "watercraft"
        ],
        [
          "by means of",
          "by means of"
        ],
        [
          "power",
          "power#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "engines",
          "engine#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "steam engine",
          "steam engine"
        ],
        [
          "pulled",
          "pull#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "pushed",
          "push#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "vehicle",
          "vehicle"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(nautical, rail transport) Of the movement of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines (originally steam engines), rather than pulled or pushed by another vehicle."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "nautical",
        "rail-transport",
        "railways",
        "transport"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "75 13 12",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines",
          "word": "na vlastní pěst"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 13 12",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines",
          "word": "omin voimin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 13 12",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "svoim xodom",
          "sense": "of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines",
          "word": "своим ходом"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 13 12",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines",
          "word": "por sus propios medios"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "36 21 43",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1987 August 18, “At the Fringe in Edinburgh, theater in crypt and streets”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-01-08, section C, page 17, columns 1–2:",
          "text": "\"People come at their own risk, at their own expense, under their own steam,\" said Mhairi McKenzie-Robinson, chief administrator of the Fringe [Edinburgh Fringe Festival].",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 September 9, Josh Quittner, “Steve Jobs: Not Dead Yet”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2008-09-10:",
          "text": "After the event, [Steve] Jobs even briefly joined the media where Apple's new product line was being shown. He walked under his own steam, of course, easily and without any apparent discomfort. […] Whether Jobs's health is in decline or not, it's undeniable that the past five years have been the most fertile of his magnificent career.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Using one's own resources; independently, unaided."
      ],
      "id": "en-under_one's_own_steam-en-prep_phrase-3XEC0MUp",
      "links": [
        [
          "Using",
          "use#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "resources",
          "resource#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "independently",
          "independently"
        ],
        [
          "unaided",
          "unaided"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, figuratively)",
        "Using one's own resources; independently, unaided."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "21 47 32",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
          "word": "na vlastní pěst"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "21 47 32",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
          "word": "omin avuin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "21 47 32",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
          "word": "omin voimin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "21 47 32",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
          "word": "par ses propres moyens"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "21 47 32",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "svoimi silami",
          "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
          "word": "своими силами"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "21 47 32",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "svoim xodom",
          "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
          "word": "своим ходом"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "36 21 43",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [
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            "Entry maintenance"
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          "_dis": "24 28 48",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "35 24 41",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
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          "_dis": "32 27 41",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 28 42",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "28 28 44",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 29 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "26 28 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 31 42",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1980, Charlotte Vale Allen, Promises, Norwalk, Conn.: Island Nation Press, published 1999, →ISBN, page 265:",
          "text": "I'd been wanting her to go for a long, long time, hoping she'd get up the gumption to do it under her own steam so I wouldn't have to make a scene about it.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "At one's own initiative; of one's own accord, unbidden, unprompted."
      ],
      "id": "en-under_one's_own_steam-en-prep_phrase-N~VdqDmu",
      "links": [
        [
          "initiative",
          "initiative"
        ],
        [
          "of one's own accord",
          "of one's own accord"
        ],
        [
          "unbidden",
          "unbidden"
        ],
        [
          "unprompted",
          "unprompted"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, figuratively)",
        "At one's own initiative; of one's own accord, unbidden, unprompted."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "21 27 52",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "at one’s own initiative — see also unbidden, unprompted",
          "word": "por sus propios medios"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌʌndə ˈwʌnz əʊn ˈstiːm/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌʌndɚ ˈwʌnz oʊn ˈstim/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-under one's own steam.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/En-au-under_one%27s_own_steam.ogg/En-au-under_one%27s_own_steam.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/En-au-under_one%27s_own_steam.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-iːm"
    }
  ],
  "word": "under one's own steam"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/iːm",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A reference to the operation of a steam engine: see sense 1.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "under one's own steam",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "under one's own steam",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "un‧der"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
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        "en:Nautical",
        "en:Rail transportation"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1915, Victor Appleton [pseudonym], “Almost an Accident”, in The Moving Picture Boys at Panama: Or Stirring Adventures along the Grand Canal, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 106:",
          "text": "Now the tug no longer moved under her own steam, nor had it been since coming alongside the wall of the central pier. For all vessels must be towed through the lock basins, and towed not by other craft, but by electric locomotives that run alongside, on top of the concrete walls.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 178:",
          "text": "By Tuesday evening the track had been cleared to the three snowbound engines, and the following day, under their own steam, they were moved away; the business of relighting their fires and raising steam in such conditions is better imagined than described.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Of the movement of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines (originally steam engines), rather than pulled or pushed by another vehicle."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "nautical",
          "nautical"
        ],
        [
          "rail transport",
          "rail transport"
        ],
        [
          "movement",
          "movement"
        ],
        [
          "locomotive",
          "locomotive#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "watercraft",
          "watercraft"
        ],
        [
          "by means of",
          "by means of"
        ],
        [
          "power",
          "power#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "engines",
          "engine#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "steam engine",
          "steam engine"
        ],
        [
          "pulled",
          "pull#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "pushed",
          "push#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "vehicle",
          "vehicle"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(nautical, rail transport) Of the movement of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines (originally steam engines), rather than pulled or pushed by another vehicle."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "nautical",
        "rail-transport",
        "railways",
        "transport"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1987 August 18, “At the Fringe in Edinburgh, theater in crypt and streets”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-01-08, section C, page 17, columns 1–2:",
          "text": "\"People come at their own risk, at their own expense, under their own steam,\" said Mhairi McKenzie-Robinson, chief administrator of the Fringe [Edinburgh Fringe Festival].",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 September 9, Josh Quittner, “Steve Jobs: Not Dead Yet”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2008-09-10:",
          "text": "After the event, [Steve] Jobs even briefly joined the media where Apple's new product line was being shown. He walked under his own steam, of course, easily and without any apparent discomfort. […] Whether Jobs's health is in decline or not, it's undeniable that the past five years have been the most fertile of his magnificent career.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Using one's own resources; independently, unaided."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Using",
          "use#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "resources",
          "resource#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "independently",
          "independently"
        ],
        [
          "unaided",
          "unaided"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, figuratively)",
        "Using one's own resources; independently, unaided."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1980, Charlotte Vale Allen, Promises, Norwalk, Conn.: Island Nation Press, published 1999, →ISBN, page 265:",
          "text": "I'd been wanting her to go for a long, long time, hoping she'd get up the gumption to do it under her own steam so I wouldn't have to make a scene about it.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "At one's own initiative; of one's own accord, unbidden, unprompted."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "initiative",
          "initiative"
        ],
        [
          "of one's own accord",
          "of one's own accord"
        ],
        [
          "unbidden",
          "unbidden"
        ],
        [
          "unprompted",
          "unprompted"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, figuratively)",
        "At one's own initiative; of one's own accord, unbidden, unprompted."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌʌndə ˈwʌnz əʊn ˈstiːm/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌʌndɚ ˈwʌnz oʊn ˈstim/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-under one's own steam.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/En-au-under_one%27s_own_steam.ogg/En-au-under_one%27s_own_steam.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/En-au-under_one%27s_own_steam.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-iːm"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines",
      "word": "na vlastní pěst"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines",
      "word": "omin voimin"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "svoim xodom",
      "sense": "of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines",
      "word": "своим ходом"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines",
      "word": "por sus propios medios"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
      "word": "na vlastní pěst"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
      "word": "omin avuin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
      "word": "omin voimin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
      "word": "par ses propres moyens"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "svoimi silami",
      "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
      "word": "своими силами"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "svoim xodom",
      "sense": "using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided",
      "word": "своим ходом"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "at one’s own initiative — see also unbidden, unprompted",
      "word": "por sus propios medios"
    }
  ],
  "word": "under one's own steam"
}

Download raw JSONL data for under one's own steam meaning in English (6.9kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.