boot·strap (btstrăp)
n.
► A loop of leather, cloth, or synthetic material that is sewn at the side or the top rear of a boot to help in pulling the boot on.
► An instance of starting of a computer; a boot.
tr.v. boot·strapped, boot·strap·ping, boot·straps
► To promote and develop by use of one's own initiative and work without reliance on outside help: “We've bootstrapped our way back with aggressive tourism and recruiting high tech industries” (John Corrigan).
► Computer Science. To boot (a computer).
adj.
► Undertaken or accomplished with minimal outside help.
► Being or relating to a process that is self-initiating or self-sustaining.
Idiom:

by (one's) (own) bootstraps
By one's own efforts.

[TahlilGaran] American Dictionary ▲