ourselves
Americanpronoun
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a reflexive form of we (used as the direct or indirect object of a verb or the direct object of a preposition).
We are deceiving ourselves. Give us a moment to ourselves.
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(used as an intensive withwe ).
We ourselves would never say such a thing.
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Informal. (used in place of we or us, especially in compound subjects, objects, and complements).
The children and ourselves thank you kindly. When it satisfies ourselves, it will be ready to market. The ones who really want the new system are the manager and ourselves.
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(used in place of we or us after as, than, orbut ).
How many parents are as fortunate as ourselves? No one loves skiing more than ourselves. Nobody heard it but ourselves.
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our customary, normal, or healthy selves.
After a good rest, we're almost ourselves again.
pronoun
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the reflexive form of we or us
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(intensifier)
we ourselves will finish it
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(preceded by a copula) our usual selves
we are ourselves when we're together
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not_standard used instead of we or us in compound noun phrases
other people and ourselves
Usage
See myself.
Etymology
Origin of ourselves
1300–50; Middle English oure selven; see our, self, -en 4, -s 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She was very contemporaneous with Our Bodies Ourselves.
From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026
He began to cut back on work after his wife died of cancer in 1991 to concentrate on raising his children, with his final big screen outing being the 1997 sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2025
From de Waal's 1982 book "Chimpanzee Politics" to 2019's "Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What they Tell Us about Ourselves," attitudes about whether animals might have thoughts worthy of scientific exploration changed dramatically.
From Science Daily • Nov. 14, 2024
Neil Postman wrote in "Amusing Ourselves to Death" that “entertainment is the supra-ideology of all discourse on television.”
From Salon • Jul. 21, 2024
“No one sent us. Ourselves only,” came the voice.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
