Meaning

15 senses

  1. Two or more people including or consisting of the speaker(s)/writer(s).

    (first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)Excluding the person(s) being addressed. (This is the exclusive we.)

    We are here to arrest you.

  2. (first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)Including the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.)

    We need to have a talk, you and me.

  3. (first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)The institution which the speaker/writer is acting for. (This is the editorial we, used by writers and others when speaking with the authority of their publication or organisation.)

    We will in due course state our reasons for publishing the name of the accused.

    As the government, we have a duty to ensure public safety.

  4. (first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)Any other entity that the speaker is a part of or identifies with, such as place of employment or education, nation, region, language, etc.

    I went to watch our school football match against Puddletown High. We lost 2-0.

    In English, we do not inflect adjectives for gender.

  5. (first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)People in general.

    We live and learn.

    We still have much to learn about quantum mechanics.

  6. (first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)The sovereign alone in his or her capacity as monarch. (This is the royal we. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)

    We are Queen of all these Isles.

    wir

    мыmy

  7. (colloquial, first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)Everyone being addressed.

    Good evening everyone. How are we all tonight?

  8. (colloquial, first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)An individual being addressed; used especially to a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given. (Sometimes called the nurse's we or the doctor's we.)

    Hello Mrs Miggins. How are we feeling this morning?

    You've been spending all your money boozing when you have a wife and family to support. I think we need to get our priorities straight.

  9. (colloquial, first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun, uncommon)Used to refer to a third person, especially someone in the speaker's care.

    "I've just been to see Mrs Miggins." — "And how is she?" — "I'm afraid we aren't too good today."

  10. Used to connect to or include readers or listeners.

    (colloquial, first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)Used to imply connection between the speaker's experiences or activities and a group of listeners. (Compare the plural of modesty.)

    Hey guys, in this video I'll show you how I make my upside-down sponge cake. First we take 200 g of butter and we whisk in 200 g of sugar. Next, we ...

  11. (first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)Used in explanatory or procedural writing, such as mathematical explanations, to imply inclusion of the reader in the undertaking.

    To solve the equation, we first collect all the terms in x on one side.

  12. (colloquial, first person, nominative, personal, plural, pronoun)Used when talking to oneself to refer to oneself.

    Now then ... let me see ... I hope I'm doing this right ... if we just connect these two wires together ...

Examples

101287 sentences

  1. Why aren't you coming with us?

    Чому ти не йдеш з нами? — deniko

    ruПочему ты не идёшь с нами? — marafon

    deWieso kommst du nicht mit uns? — MUIRIEL

    CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. Could we have a table outside?

    Можна нам сісти за столик на вулиці? — aandrusiak

    ruМожно нам столик на улице? — afyodor

    deKönnten wir einen Tisch im Freien bekommen? — raggione

    CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. English is not easy for us.

    Англійська непроста мова для нас. — deniko

    ruАнглийский не простой для нас. — Balamax

    deEnglisch fällt uns schwer. — raggione

    CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  4. I wish we had more time.

    Я хотів би, щоб у нас було більше часу. — deniko

    ruХотел бы я, чтобы у нас было больше времени. — Gruzilkin

    deIch wünschte, wir hätten mehr Zeit. — MUIRIEL

    CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  5. I guess we should leave now.

    Думаю, нам треба зараз піти. — deniko

    deIch schätze, wir sollten jetzt gehen. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

    CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
generic we (the speaker and at least one other person, regardless of whether it's the person being addressed):
Русский
By meaning 1
generic we (the speaker and at least one other person, regardless of whether it's the person being addressed):
Deutsch
By meaning 1
generic we (the speaker and at least one other person, regardless of whether it's the person being addressed):

Origin

From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Pr

From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with Scots wee, we (“we”), North Frisian we (“we”), West Frisian wy (“we”), Low German wi (“we”), Dutch we, wij (“we”), German wir (“we”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vi (“we”), Icelandic vér, við (“we”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨 (vaēm), Sanskrit वयम् (vayám).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

Antonyms

1 antonyms
theyA1

Word family

5 related words
Derivedauthor's weimperial wewe ayewe-groupwe-uns

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
waysideC1waywardC2we'llweakA2weakenB2weaker
we — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto