to do well for oneself
5
3.7
- phrasal verb
:
prosperar
- After years of hard work, she has really done well for herself and bought her own house.
- really do well for yourself
Examples
-
- He done well for himself.
-
I can see you've done well for yourself.
-
You did well for yourself, Captain.
-
I do well for myself.
-
I see the Bubble Twins are doing well for themselves.
-
Wow, you're really doing well for yourself.
-
Now, Claire's done well for herself.
-
Jacques has done well for himself this time.
-
You've done well for yourself.
-
He had done well for himself.
Fiction book (1998)
Synonyms
207
3.4
To become very successful in a job or career
35
4.9
To become successful and have a better life by working hard
8
6.3
To begin to use your skills and get recognition
Antonyms
How Successful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is transparently compositional: 'do well' (to succeed or fare well) combined with the beneficiary phrase 'for oneself' yields the meaning 'succeed or prosper for one's own benefit'. This follows standard English patterns and has clear equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Do well for oneself comes from the simple picture of a shop owner whose sales do well and who keeps the extra money for himself, counting it after a good day. So, the phrase means 'be successful' or 'prosper' and improve your own life.