self-employed

self-employed Show phonetics
adjective
not working for an employer but finding work for yourself or having your own business:
a self-employed builder
Do you pay less tax if you're self-employed?

Ms. Beattie, the truck chaser, said she and her friends, all in or near their 40s, have made the Wii a central part of their social time.
“We used to play poker,” she said. “Now we have Wii parties.” Because she’s self-employed, Ms. Beattie has continued to hunt for Wiis for her friends who have less flexibility at work: “They can’t leave their job when the U.P.S. truck comes.”

self-employed Show phonetics
plural noun
They run an advice centre for the self-employed.

self-employment Show phonetics
noun [U]

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)