to extend oneself

Examples

• All

• Kid, I'm gonna extend myself for both of our sakes.

  Hearts of the West (1975)

• I had over extended myself.

  Savage Salvation (2022)

• I extended myself a little bit further I guess.

  Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971)

• Now, okay, I extend myself, I get him in there.

  Drop Squad (1994)

• This difficult but eye-opening experience taught me to find my inner resources and extend myself to others without the benefit of a common language.

  Academic text (2006)

• She's not interested in children, but she feels obliged to extend herself to them.

  Fiction book (1990)

• In the Theory of Career Construction (Savickas, 2002), social skills can be used to extend oneself into the social organization of occupations.

  Academic text (2006)

• To succeed in her career, she decided to extend herself by taking on new challenges and responsibilities.

• He has always been willing to extend himself for others, volunteering countless hours at the local shelter.

Synonyms

P

to push

vsto extend oneself

731 1.5

To try hard to achieve something, especially against difficulty

adds the sense of exceeding normal effort intensity and limits

S

to strain

vsto extend oneself

87 4.2

To use a lot of effort to do something difficult

highlights going beyond usual capacity rather than merely reaching limits

G

to go out of one's way

vsto extend oneself

• Informal

53 3.5

Make a special effort to do something, often to help someone

denotes going beyond personal limits broadly rather than only helping acts

G

to go all out

vsto extend oneself

39 4.1

To try as hard as you can with a lot of energy

describes going beyond normal effort rather than routine hard work

E

to exert

vsto extend oneself

33 4.1

Make a strong physical or mental effort

leans more toward surpassing usual limits rather than ordinary strain

E

to endeavor

vsto extend oneself

• US

32 5.2

To try hard to do something, especially when it is difficult

stresses exceeding normal effort and pushing personal limits

G

to go to great lengths

vsto extend oneself

26 4.1

Try very hard to make something happen

emphasizes surpassing normal limits rather than simply trying hard

G

to go above and beyond

vsto extend oneself

26 3.7

To do more than is required to help others or complete a task

involves making unusually large effort beyond normal limits

E

to extend

vsto extend oneself

15 3.5

To use all your energy or skill to try to do something

means making a significant extra effort beyond one's usual limits

A

to apply oneself

vsto extend oneself

10 3.9

To work hard and give your full attention to a task

focuses on going beyond usual effort rather than sustained attention

P

to push to the limit

vsto extend oneself

7 5.1

Make a person or thing work as hard as possible until they cannot keep going

focuses on doing far more than normal effort limits

P

to push oneself harder

vsto extend oneself

4 3.5

Try much harder to work or train

implies pushing past usual limits to an extreme degree

G

to go to the ends of the earth

vsto extend oneself

1 5.9

To try very hard and do anything to achieve something

stresses pushing oneself beyond usual limits rather than any effort level

Antonyms

G

to give up

∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

S

to shrink back

• Informal

1 4.7

Move away because you are afraid or disgusted

How Hard

to overextend

19 6.3

to push oneself harder

4 3.5

to extend oneself

1 6.9

to try

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology