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

Noun Inflected Forms

• 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

See Examples For:

ego egos

Kavinsky - his red-eyed zombie DJ alter ego - was part of the second wave of influential "French Touch" artists including the likes of Justice and Sebastian.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Along with questioning social and sexual taboos, feminism and acts of aggression, Ono also confronts her own issues with ego from a Buddhist perspective, just as Cage had.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

I’ve always understood Max Cady to be a poisonous extension of the male ego, dating back to “The Executioners,” John D. MacDonald’s 1957 book that started it all.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

The opening “I Feel So Free” is the thesis statement, framing the club as a place that dissolves ego, lessens anxiety, and offers a portal to communal bliss.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

The going was painfully slow, but Chickenhound consoled himself on the long journey by boosting his own ego.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

"He is more than fit to manage Les Bleus, given what he did at Real Madrid with great players and big egos."

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

We’re wrangling a lot of very needy creative egos.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

Also, races become their own justification; egos are at stake.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

CEOs should tap in to collective wisdom, not their egos: An AI trained on one person’s thinking doesn’t scale leadership; it scales one person’s blind spots.

From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026

But even after months of managing egos and matching names and positions, Garfield didn't have the rest of his cabinet in place when he reached Washington.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• character
• psyche