ours

That or those belonging to us.

Pronoun

  1. That or those belonging to us.
    • You can't take that! It's ours!
    • Could we ask you to move, please. These seats are ours.
    • This beach is a favourite of ours.
    1. Excluding the person(s) being addressed (exclusive ours)

    2. Including the person(s) being addressed (inclusive ours).

      • We should ask for it back. After all, it is ours.
      • Don't you think that ours looks much nicer than theirs?
  2. That or those belonging to any entity that the speaker is a part of or identifies with, such as place of employment or education, nation, region, language, etc.
    • French food is better than ours.
  3. That or those belonging to people in general.
    • As we get older, maintaining an active social life should be a priority of ours.
  4. That or those belonging to everyone being addressed.
    • Good evening everyone. How are we all tonight? I know I've got my happy face on; have we all got ours on too?
  5. That or those belonging to an individual being addressed; used especially to a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given.
    • Hello Mrs Miggins. How are we feeling this morning? Oh, what's that bottle of tablets under our chair? Is that ours?
  6. Used to imply connection between the speaker's experiences or activities and a group of listeners.
    • Hey guys, in this video I'll show you how I make my upside-down sponge cake. There are lots of recipes for these, but ours is the best.
  7. Our house or home.
    • You can stay the night at ours if you like.

Origin

From Middle English oures, attested since the 1300s. Equivalent to our + -s (compare -'s); formed by analogy to his. Displaced ourn (from Middle English ouren) in standard speech.

Forms

ours our's

Derived

both of ours friend of ours of ours