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our

[ou^uh

r, ou-er; unstressed ahr]

–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?

Compare ours.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME oure, OE ūre, suppletive gen. pl. of wē we from same base as ūs us

Usage note:
See me.

-our

British.

var. of -or ¹ .

Usage note:
See -or ¹ .

we

[wee]

–plural pronoun, possessive our or ours, objective us.

1.	nominative pl. of I.

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

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

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

5.	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.

6.	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.

7.	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.

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

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

Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE wē; c. D wij, G wir, ON vēr, Goth weis

I

[ahy]

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

–pronoun

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

–noun

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

3.	Metaphysics. the ego.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME ik, ich, i; OE ic, ih; c. G ich, ON ek, L ego, Gk eg

, OCS azŭ, Lith aš, Skt ahám

Usage note:
See me.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To our

our (our)

adj. The possessive form of we.
Used as a modifier before a noun: our accomplishments; our hometown.

[Middle English, from Old English ūre; see nes-² in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Our

Our\, possessive pron. [AS. ?re our, of us; akin to ?s us, to us, and to G. unser our, of us, Goth. unsara. [root]186 See Us.] Of or pertaining to us; belonging to us; as, our country; our rights; our troops; our endeavors. See I.

The Lord is our defense. --Ps. lxxxix. 18.

Note: When the noun is not expressed, ours is used in the same way as hers for her, yours for your, etc.; as, whose house is that? It is ours.

Our wills are ours, we known not how. --Tennyson.

Language Translation for : our

Spanish: nuestro; nuestra,

German: unser,

Japanese: 私たちの

More Translations »

our

O.E. ure "of us," genitive plural of the first person pronoun, from P.Gmc. *ons (cf. O.S. usa, O.Fris. use, O.H.G. unsar, Ger. unser, Goth. unsar "our"). Ours, formed c.1300, is a double possessive, originating in northern England, and has taken over the absolute function of our. Ourselves (1495), modeled on yourselves, replaced original construction we selfe, us selfum, etc.

OUR
oxygen utilization rate

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