dear
adjective /dɪə(r)/
/dɪr/
(comparative dearer, superlative dearest)
Idioms - Dearused at the beginning of a letter before the name or title of the person that you are writing to
- Dear Sir or Madam
- Dear Mrs Jones
- Dear Beth/Dad/Aunt Susan
- (old-fashioned) My dear sister
- He's one of my dearest friends.
- They are grieving over their dear departed ones.
- dear to somebody Her daughter is very dear to her.
- They lost everything that was dear to them.
Homophones dear | deerdear deer/dɪə(r)//dɪr/- dear adjective
- Kate is a very dear friend of mine.
- dear noun
- Congratulations, my dear!
- deer noun
- The team is responsible for conserving red deer in the forest.
- [only before noun] (old-fashioned) used in speech or writing to address somebody in a polite or friendly way
- Martin, my dear fellow…
- Take my advice, dear reader.
- [not usually before noun] (British English) expensive; costing a lot of money
- Everything's so dear now, isn't it?
- There was a shortage of potatoes, and they became dear.
opposite cheap
Word OriginOld English dēore, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dier ‘beloved’, also to Dutch duur and German teuer ‘expensive’.
Idioms
close/dear/near to somebody’s heart
- having a lot of importance and interest for somebody
dear old/little…
- used to describe somebody in a way that shows love
- Dear old Sue! I knew she'd help.
- Their baby's a dear little thing.
- It's always good to hear from dear old Harry!
for dear life | for your life
- as hard or as fast as possible
- She was holding on to the rope for dear life.
- Run for your life!
hang/hold on for dear life (North American English, British English)
(also hang/hold on for/like grim death British English)
- (informal) to hold somebody/something very tightly because you are afraid
hold somebody/something dear
- (formal) to care very much for somebody/something; to value somebody/something highly
- He had destroyed everything we held dear.
your nearest and dearest
- (informal) your close family and friends