our‧selves S1 W3 /aʊəˈselvz $ aʊr-/ pronoun

1. used by the person speaking to show that they and one or more other people are affected by their own action:
We prepared ourselves for the long journey ahead.
It was strange seeing ourselves on television.

2.
a) used to emphasize ‘we’ or ‘us’:
We built the house ourselves.
As parents ourselves, we understand the problem
b) used after ‘as’, ‘like’, or ‘except’ instead of ‘us’:
More help is needed for people like ourselves.

3. (all) by ourselves
a) alone:
We weren’t supposed to play by ourselves near the pond.
b) without help from anyone else:
I knew that Tim and I wouldn’t be able to do the whole job by ourselves.

4. (all) to ourselves without having to share something with any other people:
We had the house to ourselves.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲