him ‧ self S1 W1 /ɪm’self; strong hɪmˈself/ BrE AmE pronoun [reflexive form of ‘he’]
1 .
a) used to show that the man or boy who does something is affected by his own action:
In despair, the young boy had hanged himself.
His name is James but he calls himself Jim.
He poured himself a glass of orange juice.
b) used after words such as ‘everyone’, ‘anyone’, and ‘someone’ to talk about people in general being affected by their own actions:
Everyone should learn to respect himself.
2 .
a) used to emphasize that you are talking about one particular man or boy:
It was the President himself who opened the door.
It must be true – he said so himself.
b) used after ‘like’, ‘as’, or ‘except’ instead of ‘him’:
The other passengers were all refugees like himself.
3 . (all) by himself
a) alone:
He’s lived by himself since his wife died.
Winston was sitting all by himself.
b) without help from anyone else:
It was the first time he felt he had achieved something by himself.
4 . not be/feel/seem himself informal if a man or boy is not himself, he does not feel or behave as he usually does, for example because he is upset or ill:
Rick hasn’t seemed himself lately.
5 . have something (all) to himself if a man or boy has something to himself, he does not have to share it with anyone else:
John at last had a bedroom all to himself.