ego

American  

[ee-goh, eg-oh] / ˈi goʊ, ˈɛg oʊ /

noun

egos plural

1. the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought.

2. Psychoanalysis. the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment.

3. egotism; conceit; self-importance.

   Her ego becomes more unbearable each day.

4. self-esteem or self-image; feelings.

   Your criticism wounded his ego.

5. (often initial capital letter)

   1. the enduring and conscious element that knows experience.

   2. Scholasticism. the complete person comprising both body and soul.

6. Ethnology. a person who serves as the central reference point in the study of organizational and kinship relationships.

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ego British  

/ ˈɛɡəʊ, ˈiːɡəʊ /

noun

1. the self of an individual person; the conscious subject

2. psychoanal the conscious mind, based on perception of the environment from birth onwards: responsible for modifying the antisocial instincts of the id and itself modified by the conscience (superego)

3. one's image of oneself; morale

   to boost one's ego

4. egotism; conceit

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ego Cultural  

1. The “I” or self of any person (ego is Latin for “I”). In psychological terms, the ego is the part of the psyche that experiences the outside world and reacts to it, coming between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social environment, represented by the superego.

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Discover More

The term ego is often used to mean personal pride and self-absorption: “Losing at chess doesn't do much for my ego.”

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• egos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ego

First recorded in 1780–90; from Latin: “I”; psychoanalytic term is translation of German (das) Ich “(the) I”

Explanation

Your ego is your conscious mind, the part of your identity that you consider your "self." If you say someone has "a big ego," then you are saying he is too full of himself. Poor ego, it gets such a bad rap, being so often confused with "megalomania" and "vanity" and all kinds of other nasty things, but strictly speaking it is only a psychological term popularized by Freud meaning the conscious (as opposed to the unconscious) mind, or the awareness of one's own identity and existence. Nothing wrong in that, is there?

Example Sentences

Preservation of the manager’s job, or at least their ego, becomes the top priority.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Hip-hop’s biggest anime ambassador these days may be Megan Thee Stallion, who built a whole alter ego, Todoroki Tina, around her favorite character from “My Hero Academia.”

From Salon • May 31, 2026

The hero Cage plays, Ben Reilly, has a masked alter ego, the Spider, who possesses the ability to swing from building to building to fight crime.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

"You know, he wants to go down in history; we all know he has an ego, and, bless him, he's sticking by his guns and he's starting the process."

From BBC • May 8, 2026

There was no time to worry about a teenage girl’s bruised ego.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Related Words

• character
• psyche