ourself

/(ˌ)aʊə(ɹ)ˈsɛlf/

//(ˌ)aʊə(ɹ)ˈsɛlf// pron

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

"ourself" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ourself” is uncommon English (frequency #50,710 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a pronoun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,710
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The reflexive of the royal or editorial we: myself (as used by one who is a monarch, writer or speaker when referring to oneself as we).

Corpus desk

Index EN-ourself · ourself · English

ourself · rank #50,710 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,710
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Oviedo

Nearest frequency peer: Oviedo (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “ourself”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “ourself” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ourself
PropertyValue
Headwordourself
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPronoun
IPA/(ˌ)aʊə(ɹ)ˈsɛlf/
Letters7
Frequency rank#50,710
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ourself” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ourselffalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Oviedo” (#50,711), “opry” (#50,708), “pais” (#50,712). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ourself” is #50,710. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ourself is uncommon English at frequency #50,710 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as apronoun, transcribed /(ˌ)aʊə(ɹ)ˈsɛlf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ourself, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English oure-selfe; equivalent to our + -self. The correct English form is ourself, spelled O-U-R-S-E-L-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    The reflexive of the royal or editorial we: myself (as used by one who is a monarch, writer or speaker when referring to oneself as we).
  2. 2
    The reflexive of the generic we: oneself.
  3. 3
    Reflexive of "we" referring to an individual person being addressed, especially a person in the speaker's care.
  4. 4
    The reflexive of we: ourselves.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ourself appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In the present study, we will limit ourself to the simplest of cases.
  2. Without in any way committing ourself upon this point, we have merely to observe, that we are ready to receive sealed offers containing a full specification of age, temper, appearance, and condition[…]

Etymology

From Middle English oure-selfe; equivalent to our + -self.

This word in other languages

nous-même(Français)uns(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 "ourself"?
"ourself" is spelled O-U-R-S-E-L-F. The IPA pronunciation is /(ˌ)aʊə(ɹ)ˈsɛlf/.
What does "ourself" mean?
As a pronoun, "ourself" means: The reflexive of the royal or editorial we: myself (as used by one who is a monarch, writer or speaker when referring to oneself as we).
How do you pronounce "ourself"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ourself" is /(ˌ)aʊə(ɹ)ˈsɛlf/. 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 "ourself"?
From Middle English oure-selfe; equivalent to our + -self. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ourself", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

needful#50,696postdoc#50,731potluck#50,733pricked#50,738

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list