yourself

[ yoo r-self, yawr-, yohr-, yer- ]

/ yʊərˈsɛlf, yɔr-, yoʊr-, yər- /

pronoun, plural your·selves [yoo r-selvz, yawr-, yohr-, yer-] /yʊərˈsɛlvz, yɔr-, yoʊr-, yər-/.

(an emphatic appositive of you or ye¹): a letter you yourself wrote.

a reflexive form of you (used as the direct or indirect object of a verb or the object of a preposition): Don't blame yourself. Did you ever ask yourself “why”? You can think for yourself.

Informal. (used in place of you, especially in compound subjects, objects, and complements): Ted and yourself have been elected. We saw your sister and yourself at the game. People like yourselves always feel like that.

(used in absolute constructions): Yourself having so little money, how could they expect you to help?

your normal or customary self: You'll soon be yourself again.

(used in place of you after as, than, or but): scholars as famous as yourselves; a girl no older than yourself.

oneself: The surest way is to do it yourself.

Nearby words

yourcenar, yourcenar, marguerite, yourn, yours, yours truly, yourself, yous, youse, youskevitch, youskevitch, igor, youth

Origin of yourself

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at your, self

Usage note

See myself.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for yourselves

“You are part of something older than yourselves,” is what the site says.
Glenn Beck Is Now Selling Hipster Clothes. Really.|Ana Marie Cox|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And that takes a sense of humor about yourselves and others.
Transcript: Thomas Friedman Interviews Hillary Clinton and Christine Lagarde||April 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is even possible that I am doing you an injustice and that you, yourselves, know nothing about this dog-in-the-Wanger attitude.
Harvey Weinstein’s Battle With Warner Bros. Over ‘The Butler’: There's History|Marlow Stern|July 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
One correspondent with the late ambassador urged him to send someone to Dernaa to “see the truth for yourselves.”
Exclusive: Libya Cable Detailed Threats|Eli Lake|October 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST

And wingers, as a general principle, just get ahold of yourselves, would you?
An Article That Made Me Sad, and a Little Response to Readers|Michael Tomasky|June 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Unless there is something that makes it positively necessary for me to intrude myself, I leave you to yourselves.
The Camp Fire Girls at the Seashore|Jane L. Stewart
Judge for yourselves whether he sanctioned such a system of oppression and crime.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus|American Anti-Slavery Society
I am speaking without heat; you see that I am calm: I bear you no malice and I will do you good in spite of yourselves.
Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino v.1/3, 1831-1835|Dorothy Duchesse de Dino
Some of you who have just enrolled with the class will undoubtedly say to yourselves: 'What is a John Jones?
John Jones's Dollar|Harry Stephen Keeler
This list can be made by yourselves in your notebooks for your own home town, and for the current year.
Foods and Household Management|Helen Kinne

British Dictionary definitions for yourselves

yourself

/ (jɔːˈsɛlf, jʊə-) /

pronoun plural -selves

the reflexive form of you
(intensifier)you yourself control your destiny

(preceded by a copula) your normal or usual selfyou're not yourself these days

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for yourselves

yourself

by early 14c., from your + self. Plural yourselves first recorded 1520s.

yourself

pronoun, plural your·selves [yoo r-selvz, yawr-, yohr-, yer-] /yʊərˈsɛlvz, yɔr-, yoʊr-, yər-/.

RELATED CONTENT

Nearby words

Origin of yourself

Usage note

Examples from the Web for yourselves

British Dictionary definitions for yourselves

yourself

pronoun plural -selves

Word Origin and History for yourselves

yourself