Definition "themselves" in Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus, spelling "themselves"

themselves
Themselves is the third person plural reflexive pronoun.

1 pron You use themselves to refer to people, animals, or things when the object of a verb or preposition refers to the same people or things as the subject of the verb.
v PRON, prep PRON
They all seemed to be enjoying themselves..., The men talked amongst themselves...

2 pron You use themselves to emphasize the people or things that you are referring to. Themselves is also sometimes used instead of `them' as the object of a verb or preposition., (emphasis) Many mentally ill people are themselves unhappy about the idea of community care...

3 pron You use themselves instead of `himself or herself' to refer back to the person who is the subject of sentence without saying whether it is a man or a woman. Some people think this use is incorrect.
v PRON, prep PRON
What can a patient with emphysema do to help themselves?...

4 pron You use themselves instead of `himself or herself' to emphasize the person you are referring to without saying whether it is a man or a woman. Themselves is also sometimes used as the object of a verb or preposition. Some people think this use is incorrect., (emphasis) Each student makes only one item themselves...