Definition of ego
egos
1 : the self especially as contrasted with another self or the world
2a : egotism 2b : self-esteem 1
3 : the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality especially by functioning both in the perception of and adaptation to reality — compare id, superego
egoless
adjectiveIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Examples of ego in a Sentence
I have enough ego not to want to give up easily in any contest or competition.
a star athlete with a refreshing lack of ego
Recent Examples of ego from the Web
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Much of Mancini's success in the majors has come with, as Showalter calls it, the lack of ego in being willing to go the opposite way into right-center field.
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And everyone -- all but four -- ignored their constituents in order to gratify the ego of their colleagues.
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One of our intrepid investigators turns out to be a huge fan of the series and uses his or her canonical knowledge to help solve the crime, amidst all sorts of winking and nudging about Hollywood superficiality and egos.
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The Captain is the alter ego of the kids’ school principal, a real grump named Krupp (Ed Helms) who can’t stand laughter or those boys.
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And there is also the Golden State majority owner, Joe Lacob, and his forever war with his own ego.
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Coming on fast is Daniel Craig, the latest man to inhabit author Ian Fleming's fictional alter ego.
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Perenchio’s penchant for privacy was particularly unusual in the land of high-octane egos and personal publicists.
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Which is why Alan Cox – effectively the COO for the Linux kernel development project and the man Torvalds refers to as his alter ego –
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ego'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Ego is the Latin word for "I." So if a person seems to begin every sentence with "I", it's sometimes a sign of a big ego. It was the psychologist Sigmund Freud (well, actually his original translator) who put ego into the popular vocabulary, but what he meant by the word is complex, so only other psychologists really use it in the Freudian sense. The rest of us generally use ego simply to mean one's sense of self-worth, whether exaggerated or not. When used in the "exaggerated" sense, ego is almost the same thing as conceit. Meeting a superstar athlete without a trace of this kind of ego would be a most refreshing experience. But having a reasonable sense of your own worth is no sin. Life's little everyday victories are good—in fact, necessary—for a healthy ego.
Origin and Etymology of ego
New Latin, from Latin, I — more at i
Other Psychology Terms
EGO Defined for English Language Learners
ego
playDefinition of ego for English Language Learners
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: the opinion that you have about yourself
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psychology : a part of the mind that senses and adapts to the real world
Medical Dictionary
ego
playMedical Definition of ego
egos
1: the self especially as contrasted with another self or the world
2: the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality especially by functioning both in the perception of and adaptation to reality—compare id[1], superego
Learn More about ego
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ego Spanish Central: Translation of ego Nglish: Translation of ego for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ego for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ego
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