ourselves
Americanpronoun
-
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.
-
(used as an intensive withwe ).
We ourselves would never say such a thing.
-
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.
-
(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.
-
our customary, normal, or healthy selves.
After a good rest, we're almost ourselves again.
pronoun
-
-
the reflexive form of we or us
-
(intensifier)
we ourselves will finish it
-
-
(preceded by a copula) our usual selves
we are ourselves when we're together
-
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.
BRQ: My mom, Donna McKenna, allowed us to make decisions for ourselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
"If we're honest with ourselves, we've all been somewhat overwhelmed by this. And that's true for everyone, including adults," he added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Neither of us attended college, even though we have done well for ourselves, so we have no experience with this process.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
"We term ourselves as co-housing, because we all have our separate flats," she says, and that the set-up is not a commune.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Sean kept talking as we sat ourselves on the ground and wound the rope around our waists, wound ourselves together.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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.
