our‧selves S1 W3 / aʊəselvz $ aʊr- / 代词

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.