ourselves

[ ahr-selvz, ouuhr-, ou-er- ]

plural pronoun

1. 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.

2. (used as an intensive with we ):

   We ourselves would never say such a thing.

3. 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.

4. (used in place of we or us after as, than, or but ):

   How many parents are as fortunate as ourselves? No one loves skiing more than ourselves. Nobody heard it but ourselves.

5. our customary, normal, or healthy selves:

   After a good rest, we're almost ourselves again.

ourselves

/ aʊəˈsɛlvz /

pronoun

1. 1. the reflexive form of we or us
   2. (intensifier)

      we ourselves will finish it

2. preceded by a copula our usual selves

   we are ourselves when we're together

3. not_standard.
   used instead of we or us in compound noun phrases

   other people and ourselves

Usage Note

See myself.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ourselves¹

1300–50; Middle English oure selven; our, self, -en ⁴, -s ³

Example Sentences

"But we're fighting a war against a vicious enemy and we must have the right to use everything we need within the realm of international law to defend ourselves," he said.

From BBC

"In our videos we're just ourselves, we're not aiming to be certain characters, and first and foremost we're content creators who make fun videos."

From BBC

Former teammates have now revealed to the BBC that some of Ms Allen-Wyatt's actions "also impacted ourselves, our families, and friends".

From BBC

“We built ourselves a giant cocktail, sat on the side of the bed and cried like babies,” Mason remembers.

From Los Angeles Times

“I feel like most creatives would agree that a daunting and challenging project creates the best kind of pressure cooker to make the best music. The Disney legacy as a whole is such a huge deal for us. So, to have a hand in continuing that thread, it is a lot of pressure. But again, it pushes us to be the best versions of ourselves.”

From Los Angeles Times