Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: 'Himself' is a third person singular reflexive pronoun. 'Himself' is used when the object of a verb or preposition refers to the same person as the subject of the verb, except in meaning 3.
1.
You use ~ to refer to a man, boy, or male animal.
He poured ~ a whisky and sat down in the chair...
A driver blew up his car and ~ after being stopped at a police checkpoint...
William went away muttering to ~.
PRON: v PRON, prep PRON
2.
In written English, ~ is sometimes used to refer to a person without saying whether that person is a man or a woman. Some people dislike this use and prefer to use ‘~ or herself’ or ‘themselves’.
The child’s natural way of expressing ~ is play...
PRON: v PRON, prep PRON
3.
You use ~ to emphasize the person or thing that you are referring to. Himself is sometimes used instead of ‘him’ as the object of a verb or preposition.
The Prime Minister ~ is on a visit to Peking...
PRON emphasis