Definition of "we"

we¹

/wiː/

pronoun
first-person plural nominative case, objective case us, possessive determiner our, possessive pronoun ours, reflexive ourselves, reflexive singular ourself
1. (personal) The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person (not the person being addressed). (This is the exclusive we.)
  Quotations
  It’s time to overcome queasiness and restraint. We, the liberal and progressive people of the world, are at war with the far right to save the earth.
  2017 February 20, Paul Mason, “Climate scepticism is a far-right badge of honour – even in sweltering Australia”, in the Guardian‎
2. (personal) The speaker(s)/writer(s) and the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.)
3. (personal) The institution upon which the speaker/writer is acting. (This is the editorial we, used by writers and others when speaking with the authority of their publication or organisation.)
  Quotations
  In light of the promulgation of the aforementioned laws and decisions, we (the administration) propose to make the following amendments to local legislation to implement the relevant requirements on oath taking by public officers.
  2021, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, “Paper No. CMAB C4/9/1”, in Documents of the Hong Kong Legislative Council‎, page 1
4. (personal, royal) The sovereign alone in their capacity as monarch. (This is the royal we. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)
5. (personal) The plural form of you, including everyone being addressed.
  Quotations
  As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.
  2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist
6. (personal, often considered patronising) A second- or third-person pronoun for a person in the speaker's care.
  Quotations
  Are we ready to go to bed, sweetie?
  2008 May 13, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic)
7. (colloquial) The speaker themself, used to imply connection between the speaker's experiences and a group of listeners.
  Quotations
  All Vice President [Mike] Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people.
  2021 January 6, 3:38:03 from the start, in Rally on Electoral College Vote Certification‎ (television broadcast), spoken by Donald Trump, Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN)
  [Today is] not a day to think about fishing so we will get back to working on the shelter. [cut in video] Cool, so I guess the best analogy for this, then, is that we've basically framed the house, and now we get to shingle.
  2021 June 24, “Far from Home” (3:07 from the start), in Alone‎, season 9, episode 4 (televison production), spoken by Theresa Emmerich Kamper, via HISTORY Channel
  The elephant in the room, you know, we had a stroke back in May.
  2022 October 25, 32:11 from the start, Vote 2022, in Joseph Camp, director, PBS NewsHour‎ (television production), spoken by John Fetterman, via Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), archived from the original on 2022-10-25
8. (West Country, archaic) Us.
9. (bridge) The side which is keeping score.
determiner
1. The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person.

we²

/wə/

pronoun
1. (Tyneside) Us.

Definition of "we"

we1

pronoun

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

determiner

we2

pronoun

we¹

we²