our

¹

[ ouuhr, ou-er; unstressed ahr ]

pronoun

1. (a form of the possessive case of we used as an attributive adjective):

   Our team is going to win. Do you mind our going on ahead?

-our

²

British.

1. variant of -or ¹.

our

¹

/ aʊə /

determiner

1. of, belonging to, or associated in some way with us

   our parents are good to us

   our best vodka

2. belonging to or associated with all people or people in general

   our nearest planet is Venus

3. a formal word for my used by editors or other writers, and monarchs
4. informal.
   (often sarcastic) used instead of your

   are our feet hurting?

5. dialect.
   belonging to the family of the speaker

   it's our Sandra's birthday tomorrow

-our

²

suffix forming nouns

1. indicating state, condition, or activity

   labour

   behaviour

Spelling Note

See -or ¹.

Grammar Note

See me.

Word History and Origins

Origin of our¹

before 900; Middle English oure, Old English ūre, suppletive genitive plural of wē we from same base as ūs us

Word History and Origins

Origin of our¹

Old English ūre (genitive plural), from us ; related to Old French, Old Saxon ūser, Old High German unsēr, Gothic unsara

Origin of our²

in Old French -eur, from Latin -or, noun suffix

Example Sentences

As a professional flower seller, he appreciates his customers, “but our typical client is not adventurous,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

“It encourages emotion to drive our decision-making behavior, as opposed to logic,” Wright said.

From Los Angeles Times

Scientists explain how our politics got so bad that we can’t come together to confront common threats like the national debt, climate change and COVID-19.

From Los Angeles Times

“This is a story about the media and our responsibility as citizens in how we consume it. Is showing violence on TV helping us make better decisions as voters? I don’t know the answer to that, but maybe the film can open up discussions with people who are in different camps.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Since that day, I have been filled with an immense pride about how well we used the resources we had, under Arledge’s guidance, and what positive impact it had on the level of coverage of live events, sports or news, in our industry.”

From Los Angeles Times