itself

an end in itself

if an activity or action is an end in itself, it is important to you not because it will help you to achieve something else, but because you enjoy doing it or think that it is important. Education should be an end in itself.

See also: end

let something speak for itself/themselves

speak for itself/themselves - if something speaks for itself, it does not need any explanation. The book offers no analysis of Bonnard's work, it just lets the paintings speak for themselves.

See also: let, speak, themselves

speak for itself/themselves

if something speaks for itself, it does not need any explanation. I'm not going to talk about our business successes. I think the report speaks for itself.

See also: speak, themselves

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an end in itself

satisfying no other purpose than the enjoyment of doing it. Memorizing facts can become an end in itself and not a way of understanding something.

See also: end

in and of itself

without considering anything else. Any step we can take to end the conflict and save lives is important in and of itself.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the form in and of themselves: Lower interest rates in and of themselves don't mean much for stock prices.

lend itself to something

to be good for a particular use. It was surprising how well her book lent itself to being turned into a film.

See also: lend