fend

•  verb

fend for yourself to look after yourself without help from other people:
?Now that the kids are old enough to fend for themselves, we're free to travel more.
fend sb/sth <-> off phrasal verb [T]
1    to defend yourself from an attack:
?She managed to fend off her attacker.
2    to deal with criticism or a difficult question:
?Henry did his best to fend off questions about his private life.