Meaning of Idiom “Take It Upon Oneself”
1. To take something upon oneself means to decide to do it without asking for permission or agreement.
2. To undertake something even though one has not been asked to do so, especially something that is not one’s responsibility.
3. To do something that needs to be done on one’s own initiative, voluntarily, without prompting.
4. To take responsibility for something without being asked.
5. To assume responsibilities, burdens, or difficulties alone, without any help.
Also used in the form of “take on oneself.”
Sentence Examples
“I took it upon myself to organize everything at work. The place was a shambles.”
“Sherry took it upon herself to set up a funding drive to help us pay for classroom improvements.”
“I can’t believe the kids took it upon themselves to clean the house while we were away.”
“I always take it upon myself to get to know the people who deliver our packages.”
“You’ve taken all their problems upon yourself. It’s too much. They need to learn to do for themselves.”
“My brother took it upon himself to enter the priesthood. It was quite unexpected.”
Origin
This idiom has been used since the 1400s. It uses take in the sense of to lay hold of something and take possession of it, alluding to taking a burden and placing it upon one’s own shoulders.