paying one's own way

Verb

pay one's own way (third-person singular simple present pays one's own way, present participle paying one's own way, simple past and past participle paid one's own way)

1. To pay for oneself, not relying on the generosity of others.
   • He paid his own way through community college and then transferred to a state university.

   Synonyms:

   pay one's own freight

2. Synonym of pay for itself.
   • Any in-house product development must pay its own way.

   Synonyms:

   pay for itself