our

[ ouuh r, ou-er; unstressed ahr ]

/ aʊər, ˈaʊ ər; unstressed ɑr /

pronoun

(a form of the possessive case of we used as an attributive adjective): Our team is going to win. Do you mind our going on ahead?

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anchorite

a granular metamorphic rock.

a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.

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Compare ours.

Origin of our

before 900; Middle English oure, Old English ūre, suppletive genitive plural of wē we from same base as ūs us

usage note for our

See me.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH our

are hour our

Words nearby our

ounce, ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, an, ouncer, oupa, ouphe, our, our father, our lady, our town, ouranos, ourari

Definition for our (2 of 4)

[ wee ]

/ wi /

plural pronoun, possessive our or ours, objective us.

nominative plural of I.

(used to denote oneself and another or others): We have two children. In this block we all own our own houses.

(used to denote people in general): the marvels of science that we take for granted.

(used to indicate a particular profession, nationality, political party, etc., that includes the speaker or writer): We in the medical profession have moral responsibilities.

Also called the royal we. (used by a sovereign, or by other high officials and dignitaries, in place of I in formal speech): We do not wear this crown without humility.

Also called the editorial we. (used by editors, writers, etc., to avoid the too personal or specific I or to represent a collective viewpoint): As for this column, we will have nothing to do with shady politicians.

you (used familiarly, often with mild condescension or sarcasm, as in addressing a child, a patient, etc.): We know that's naughty, don't we? It's time we took our medicine.

(used in the predicate following a copulative verb): It is we who should thank you.

(used in apposition with a noun, especially for emphasis): We Americans are a sturdy lot.

Origin of we

before 900; Middle English, Old English wē; cognate with Dutch wij, German wir, Old Norse vēr, Gothic weis

Definition for our (3 of 4)

[ ahy ]

/ aɪ /

pronoun, nominative I, possessive my or mine, objective me; plural nominative we, possessive our or ours, objective us.

the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself.

noun, plural I's.

(used to denote the narrator of a literary work written in the first person singular).

Metaphysics. the ego.

Origin of I

before 900; Middle English ik, ich, i; Old English ic, ih; cognate with German ich, Old Norse ek, Latin ego, Greek egṓ, OCS azŭ, Lithuanian aš, Sanskrit ahám

usage note for I

See me.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH I

aye eye I

Definition for our (4 of 4)

-our

British.

variant of -or¹.

usage note for -our

See -or¹.

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for our (1 of 7)

our

/ (aʊə) /

determiner

of, belonging to, or associated in some way with usour best vodka; our parents are good to us

belonging to or associated with all people or people in generalour nearest planet is Venus

a formal word for my used by editors or other writers, and monarchs

informal (often sarcastic) used instead of yourare our feet hurting?

dialect belonging to the family of the speakerit's our Sandra's birthday tomorrow

Word Origin for our

Old English ūre (genitive plural), from us; related to Old French, Old Saxon ūser, Old High German unsēr, Gothic unsara

British Dictionary definitions for our (2 of 7)

I

/ (aɪ) /

noun plural i's, I's or Is

the ninth letter and third vowel of the modern English alphabet

any of several speech sounds represented by this letter, in English as in bite or hit

something shaped like an I
(in combination)an I-beam

dot the i's and cross the t's to pay meticulous attention to detail

British Dictionary definitions for our (3 of 7)

symbol for

the imaginary number √–1Also called: j

British Dictionary definitions for our (4 of 7)

/ (wiː) /

pronoun (subjective)

refers to the speaker or writer and another person or other peoplewe should go now

refers to all people or people in generalthe planet on which we live

when used by editors or other writers, and formerly by monarchs, a formal word for I 1
(as noun)he uses the royal we in his pompous moods

informal used instead of you with a tone of persuasiveness, condescension, or sarcasmhow are we today?

Word Origin for we

Old English wē, related to Old Saxon wī, Old High German wir, Old Norse vēr, Danish, Swedish vi, Sanskrit vayam

British Dictionary definitions for our (5 of 7)

I¹

/ (aɪ) /

pronoun

(subjective) refers to the speaker or writer

Word Origin for I

C12: reduced form of Old English ic; compare Old Saxon ik, Old High German ih, Sanskrit ahám

British Dictionary definitions for our (6 of 7)

I²

symbol for

chem iodine

physics current

physics isospin

logic a particular affirmative categorial statement, such as some men are married, often symbolized as SiPCompare A, E, O 1

(Roman numeral) oneSee Roman numerals

abbreviation for

Italy (international car registration)

Word Origin for I

(for sense 4) from Latin (aff) i (rmo) I affirm

British Dictionary definitions for our (7 of 7)

-our

suffix forming nouns

indicating state, condition, or activitybehaviour; labour

Word Origin for -our

in Old French -eur, from Latin -or, noun suffix

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for our

The symbol for the elementiodine

i The symbol forcurrent

Scientific definitions for our (1 of 2)

[ ī ]

The number whose square is equal to -1. Numbers expressed in terms of i are called imaginary or complex numbers.

Scientific definitions for our (2 of 2)

The symbol for electric current.

The symbol for iodine.

Idioms and Phrases with our

see dot the i's and cross the t's.

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WORD OF THE DAY

our

pronoun

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Origin of our

usage note for our

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH our

Words nearby our

Definition for our (2 of 4)

plural pronoun, possessive our or ours, objective us.

Origin of we

Definition for our (3 of 4)

pronoun, nominative I, possessive my or mine, objective me; plural nominative we, possessive our or ours, objective us.

noun, plural I's.

Origin of I

usage note for I

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH I

Definition for our (4 of 4)

British.

usage note for -our

British Dictionary definitions for our (1 of 7)

determiner

Word Origin for our

British Dictionary definitions for our (2 of 7)

I

noun plural i's, I's or Is

British Dictionary definitions for our (3 of 7)

symbol for

British Dictionary definitions for our (4 of 7)

pronoun (subjective)

Word Origin for we

British Dictionary definitions for our (5 of 7)

pronoun

Word Origin for I

British Dictionary definitions for our (6 of 7)

symbol for

abbreviation for

Word Origin for I

British Dictionary definitions for our (7 of 7)

suffix forming nouns

Word Origin for -our

Medical definitions for our

Scientific definitions for our (1 of 2)

Scientific definitions for our (2 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with our