ourselves

/aʊəˈsɛlvz/

//aʊəˈsɛlvz// pron

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

"ourselves" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ourselves” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,401. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,401
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Us; the group including the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition when that group also is the subject.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ourselves · ourselves · English

ourselves · rank #2,401 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,401
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH orange

Nearest frequency peer: orange (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “ourselves”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “ourselves” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ourselves
PropertyValue
Headwordourselves
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPronoun
IPA/aʊəˈsɛlvz/
Letters9
Frequency rank#2,401
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ourselves”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ourselveslands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “orange” (#2,400), “pages” (#2,402), “opposite” (#2,399). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ourselves” is #2,401. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around ourselves (IPA /aʊəˈsɛlvz/), apronoun. Corpus frequency is #2,401 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for ourselves, with forms such as "oruselves", "oureslves", and "ourrselves". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Morphologically our + -selves. The correct English form is ourselves, spelled O-U-R-S-E-L-V-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Us; the group including the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition when that group also is the subject.
  2. 2
    Intensifies the subject as the group including the speaker, especially to indicate that no one else satisfies the predicate or needs to be included.
  3. 3
    Referring to everyone being addressed.
  4. 4
    Referring to an individual person being addressed, especially a person in the speaker's care; also ourself.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We should keep this for ourselves.
  2. Let's not beat ourselves up over this.

Etymology

Morphologically our + -selves.

Synonyms

usselfweself

This word in other languages

nos(Español)nos(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oruselves
  • oureslves
  • ourrselves
  • ourselevs
  • oursellves
  • ourselvess
  • ourselvse
  • ourselvves
  • oursevles
  • oursleves
  • oursselves
  • ousrelves
  • uorselves

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ourselves - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

oruselves2oureslves2ourrselves1ourselevs2oursellves1ourselvess1ourselvse2ourselvves1
Edit distance from "ourselves"

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 "ourselves"?
"ourselves" is spelled O-U-R-S-E-L-V-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /aʊəˈsɛlvz/.
What does "ourselves" mean?
As a pronoun, "ourselves" means: Us; the group including the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition when that group also is the subject.
What are common misspellings of "ourselves"?
Common misspellings include "oruselves", "oureslves", "ourrselves", "ourselevs", "oursellves". The correct spelling is "ourselves".
How do you pronounce "ourselves"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ourselves" is /aʊəˈsɛlvz/. 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 "ourselves"?
Morphologically our + -selves. 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 "ourselves", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

selection#2,404estimated#2,388typically#2,414delivered#2,386

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Thursday13 variantsremaining13 variantspositions13 variantsministry13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list