Idiom
look out for number one
Meaning
To act in one's own interests; to act in a manner advantageous primarily to oneself.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He always looks out for number one in every situation.”
“In this competitive industry, you must look out for number one if you want to succeed.”
“She realized that her colleagues were only looking out for number one, so she stopped sharing her best ideas with them.”
Examples
simple
“He always looks out for number one in every situation.”
contextual
“In this competitive industry, you must look out for number one if you want to succeed.”
complex
“She realized that her colleagues were only looking out for number one, so she stopped sharing her best ideas with them.”
Origin
Attested since the 1830s at the latest, the phrase is a compound of *look out for* and *number one*, the latter functioning as a substitute for oneself.
Key words
Related idioms
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