our
- 1Belonging to or associated with the speaker and one or more other people, or a group the speaker belongs to, with or without the person addressed.
We will send you our address.
Our school is bigger than your school.
UsageBefore a noun: our house. On its own, use ours: the house is ours (not
incorrect: our's).Note
Nothing in the form shows who is left out. Context does the excluding. In 'Sorry, you're not invited to our party,' the apology and the 'you' put the listener outside the group. Said to a fellow guest, our party would take the listener in.
- 2Belonging to human beings as a whole.
Our need for water is greater than our need for food.
Most of our cells are replaced over time.
- 3Used to present the speaker's own activity as shared with the audience.
"On today's show, we're planting our tomatoes," the TV gardener said.
"Now we gently fold in our egg whites and slide the pan into the oven," the TV chef said, smiling at the camera.
UsageOften with let's: let's get our ingredients ready.
Note
Tutorial narration often switches from I to let's and our once the work begins: "I'll demonstrate my favorite soup recipe. Let's chop our onions and warm our pan." The viewer owns nothing and does nothing, yet is drawn into the task. Unlike the inclusive use of the everyday our, nothing is actually shared. Unlike the caregiver's our, it never quietly means your.
Less common meanings
- 4Used informally instead of your, his or her, especially by a carer, nurse or teacher speaking to or about someone in their charge; it can sound patronizing.
How is our knee feeling this morning?
Have we taken our pills this morning, Mr. Garcia?
UsageWith adults who may resent it, plain your is safer: How is your knee feeling?
Note
The nurse's and the scolding parent's 'we' addresses one person but folds them into a shared group, so 'our tablets' belong to the patient alone. That folding-in is where the patronizing tone comes from: the listener is spoken for rather than spoken to. Aimed at a whole class or ward, it works the same way, as in let's all get our coats on.
- 5Used before a first name to mark a member of one's family or a very close friend.
Have you heard from our Michael lately?
That's our Lisa's car outside.
Note
A family marker from Northern England and Scotland. It goes straight before a first name, with no article: 'our Terry,' 'our Lisa's car.' The name is claimed for the household, much as a surname would be, without saying whether Terry is a brother, a cousin or a very close friend.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The family-marker use is associated with Northern England and Scotland. en.wiktionary.org
- 6In a monarch's official speech or writing, the possessive that goes with the royal we, standing for my.
The proclamation closed with the words "Given at our court, under our hand and seal, this tenth day of June."
"It is our pleasure that the prisoner be released," the empress declared from the throne.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of our apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
From Middle English oure, from Old English ūre (ūser), from Proto-Germanic *unseraz ("of us, our") and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *n̥-s-ero-. It is related to Dutch onze, German unser, Norwegian vår, and more distantly to Latin noster.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Our descends from Middle English oure and Old English ūre, also ūser. en.wiktionary.org
- The Germanic ancestor is reconstructed as *unseraz, meaning 'of us, our'. en.wiktionary.org
- The ultimate ancestor is reconstructed as Proto-Indo-European *n̥-s-ero-. en.wiktionary.org
- Our is cognate with Dutch onze, German unser and Norwegian vår, and more distantly related to Latin noster. en.wiktionary.org