our

/ˈaʊə(ɹ)/

//ˈaʊə(ɹ)// det

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"our" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“our” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #76 in English word frequency and used as a determiner.

#76
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Belonging to us, excluding the person(s) being addressed (exclusive our).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

our vs oz
33% similar
our vs ow
33% similar
our vs ox
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for our
PropertyValue
Headwordour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechDeterminer
IPA/ˈaʊə(ɹ)/
Letters3
Frequency rank#76
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “our” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). our lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for our is 3 letters long, classified as a determiner, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈaʊə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #76 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for our, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "oz", "ow", "ox", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English oure, from Old English ūre, ūser (“our”), from Proto-Germanic *unseraz (“of us, our”), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-s-ero- (“our”). Cognate with Scots oor (“our”), West Frisian ús (“our”), Low German uns (“our”), Dutch onze (“our”), Germ… The correct English form is our, spelled O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Belonging to us, excluding the person(s) being addressed (exclusive our).
  2. 2
    Belonging to us, including the person(s) being addressed (inclusive our).
  3. 3
    Of, from, or belonging to any entity that the speaker is a part of or identifies with, such as place of employment or education, nation, region, language, etc.
  4. 4
    Belonging to people in general.
  5. 5
    Belonging to everyone being addressed.
  6. 6
    Belonging to an individual being addressed; used especially of a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given.
  7. 7
    Belonging to a third person, especially someone in the speaker's care.
  8. 8
    Used to imply connection between the speaker's experiences or activities and a group of listeners.
  9. 9
    Used before a person's name to indicate that the person is in one's family, or is a very close friend.

Etymology

From Middle English oure, from Old English ūre, ūser (“our”), from Proto-Germanic *unseraz (“of us, our”), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-s-ero- (“our”). Cognate with Scots oor (“our”), West Frisian ús (“our”), Low German uns (“our”), Dutch onze (“our”), German unser, unsere (“our”) Danish vor (“our”), Norwegian vår (“our”), and more distantly Latin noster.

This word in other languages

nuestro(Español)notre(Français)unser(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "our"?
"our" is spelled O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈaʊə(ɹ)/.
What does "our" mean?
As a determiner, "our" means: Belonging to us, excluding the person(s) being addressed (exclusive our).
What words are commonly confused with "our"?
"our" is commonly confused with "oz", "ow", "ox". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "our"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "our" is /ˈaʊə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "our"?
From Middle English oure, from Old English ūre, ūser (“our”), from Proto-Germanic *unseraz (“of us, our”), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-s-ero- (“our”). Cognate with Scots oor (“our”), West Frisian ús (“our”), Low German uns (“our”), Dutch onze (“o... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “our”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is O-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈaʊə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “oz” - see the side-by-side comparison. our vs oz
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list