From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishself-esteemˌself-esˈteem noun [uncountable] PRIDE/SELF-RESPECTthe feeling of being satisfied with your own abilities, and that you deserve to be liked or respected → self-respectraise/build (up)/boost somebody’s self-esteem Playing a sport can boost a girl’s self-esteem. students’ sense of self-esteemlow/poor self-esteem (=not much self-esteem)
Examples from the Corpus
self-esteem• But they also point to the benefits of meaningful work in building self-esteem.• What happened that season turned out to be a story about the struggle for self-esteem, equity and respect.• Getting a job did a lot for her self-esteem.• Losing the job was a real blow to his self-esteem.• People who live on the streets lose self-esteem.• Don't overdo it though - the flipside of stress is boredom, stagnation and low self-esteem.• When I started seeing my therapist, I was suffering from very low self-esteem.• Other facets of self-esteem may be poor, but are not necessarily so.• The undermining of self-esteem may lead to assumptions about the reactions of others that are unjustified.• He had a robust self-esteem, even though this was a blow, and he needed financially to continue working.• Sports should build a child's self-esteem, not damage it.• The program is designed to help children from broken families build their self-esteem.• The key, once again, is that when we choose to act with self-esteem, we begin to feel self-esteem.raise/build (up)/boost somebody’s self-esteem• They gave examples of how some of their attempts at building up self-esteem seemed to have worked.• We use the techniques to build up our self-esteem and self-image.• To build your self-esteem set yourself targets, and if you achieve them you can reward yourself with a treat. 