self-administer

verb

self-ad·​min·​is·​ter ˌself-əd-ˈmi-nə-stər 

self-administered; self-administering; self-administers

transitive + intransitive

: to administer (something, such as a drug) to oneself

can self-administer the drug with an inhaler

allowed to self-administer the test

Those regulations … also state that only a school nurse can apply medications, but exemptions exist that allow students in some cases to self-administer according to district guidelines.

—Jennifer Bogdan

Examples of self-administer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The patient self-administers a lethal dose prescribed by a physician after two doctors have signed off on the procedure. —Karlyn Bowman, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

As Strangio has written, cis women have much to learn from trans people, who have spent decades learning to self-administer medication and navigate openly hostile medical institutions, both within and beyond the law. —Colleen Hamilton, Them, 4 Dec. 2024

These would include confirmation of a patient's mental competence, assessment by two independent doctors and likely a requirement for drugs to be self-administered. —Harriet Marsden, theweek, 16 Oct. 2024

Acupressure doesn’t require needles and can be self-administered for immediate stress relief, for example. —Michelle Pugle, Verywell Health, 26 Sep. 2024

Previously, people who needed epinephrine needed to get injections from a healthcare professional or to self-administer the drug with an EpiPen. —Lisa Rapaport, EverydayHealth.com, 12 Aug. 2024

Dosing errors came as a result of people measuring and self-administering incorrect amounts, and health care providers miscalculating doses of the cheaper, compounded versions of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy, the agency said Friday in an alert. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 29 July 2024

The February petition stated that Wilson has been taking medication for dementia and is incapable of self-administering medicine and sticking to his medication schedule. —Christie D’zurilla, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2024

Patients self-administer hormone injections to stimulate egg production, and medical staff retrieve mature eggs from ovaries, place them in petri dishes and fertilize them with sperm. —Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

self-administer

transitive verb

self-ad·​min·​i·​ster -əd-ˈmi-nə-stər 

: to administer (as a drug) to oneself

self-administered an analgesic

self-administration

-ˌmin-ə-ˈstrā-shən 

noun