dear

¹ American  

[deer] / dɪər /

adjective

• dearer,
  comparative
• dearest
  superlative

1. beloved or loved.

   a dear friend.

   Synonyms:

   darling

2. (used in the salutation of a letter as an expression of affection or respect or as a conventional greeting).

   Dear Sir.

3. precious in one's regard; cherished.

   our dearest possessions.

4. heartfelt; earnest.

   one's dearest wish.

5. high-priced; expensive.

   The silk dress was too dear.

6. charging high prices.

   That shop is too dear for my budget.

7. excessive; high.

   a dear price to pay for one's independence.

8. Obsolete. difficult to get; scarce.

9. Obsolete. worthy; honorable.

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noun

• dears
  plural

1. a person who is good, kind, or generous.

   You're a dear to help me with the work.

2. a beloved one.

3. (sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address, as to a child or romantic partner (sometimes offensive when used to a stranger, subordinate, etc.)

adverb

1. dearly; fondly.

2. at a high price.

   That painting cost me dear.

interjection

1. (used as an exclamation of surprise, distress, etc.).

   Oh dear, what a disappointment! Dear me! What's all that noise?

dear ² American  

[deer] / dɪər /

Or dere

adjective

Archaic.

• dearer,
  comparative
• dearest
  superlative

1. hard; grievous.

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dear British  

/ dɪə /

adjective

1. beloved; precious

2. used in conventional forms of address preceding a title or name, as in Dear Sir or my dear Mr Smith

3. important; close

   a wish dear to her heart

4. 1. highly priced

   2. charging high prices

5. appealing or pretty

   what a dear little ring!

6. urgently or with extreme vigour or desperation

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interjection

1. used in exclamations of surprise or dismay, such as Oh dear! and dear me!

noun

1. (often used in direct address) someone regarded with affection and tenderness; darling

adverb

1. dearly

   his errors have cost him dear

dear Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing dear

• for dear life
• nearest and dearest

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Synonym Usage

See expensive.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dearness
  noun
• dearly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dears
  plural

Adjectives

• dearer
  comparative
• dearest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of dear¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English dere, deire, Old English dēore, dīore, dȳre; cognate with Old High German tiuri, Old Norse dȳrr

Origin of dear²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English dere “fierce, hard,” Old English dēor “brave, bold, severe”

Explanation

If someone or something is dear to you, it means you hold them or it very close to your heart, as in "My country is very dear to me" or "She is a dear friend." As a written form of address — such as "Dear Mr. So-and-so" — dear is generally a polite but impersonal standard greeting. Dear can sometimes mean expensive, as in "The cost of food is so dear these days," though that's a rather dated usage nowadays. Used about children, baby animals, or other examples of insufferable cuteness, dear can also mean "sweet" or "adorable." In this sense, dear is a favorite word of grandmothers and other doting relations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dear dears dearer dearest

I have no children, and I’ve always planned for whatever I leave to go to my brother, a dear friend and a couple of charities I care about.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

We met on “Cuckoo’s Nest” and we’ve been dear, dear buddies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

And they added: "We are proud to make this long-term commitment in his name and in keeping with the values he held dear."

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

“Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us,” they said in a statement published on her Instagram account.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Before making any decision, no matter how small, people said that she asked, “Would dear Elisha like me to do this?”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

“We didn’t keep that,” she said, “but I loved learning what Lydia would do if she could. ‘Eyes forward dears, we are not sitting comfortably in a class room.’”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025

I would think to myself, Oh, my dears, if you could only see who you are speaking to and how hard they work.

From Slate ● Apr. 4, 2024

"Goodbye my dears... You will all go home... You will be together," Nouman says, waving a bandaged hand.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2023

By ingesting the chirpy little dears, Bergenkind seeks to internalize the little guys’ sunny joyfulness.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2016

“Ah, her friends. Then they are welcome. My dears, pray be seated.”

From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers

Meanwhile, what got cheaper diverged sharply from what got dearer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

In the Hungarian countryside, activism often comes at a price, some dearer than others, as campaigners in Jaszfenyszaru can attest.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

"The further down towards Enniskillen you go, the dearer it's getting - the cheapest I saw was £1.64," he said.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

But in 2023, artists also took another step in reclaiming aspects of our humanity and holding them a little dearer.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2023

She writes, “I have found the paintings”—clearly she didn’t have them hanging up—and they are now even dearer to me.”

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

"My dearest wish is that the decision encourages other women who up until now have not had the courage to take this step," Lainault said.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

"It is truly my dearest wish that this opens the way for other women who might not have dared until now," the 59-year-old, who lives in Anglet in southwestern France, said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Hayden was one of my dearest and closest friends that I loved and cared about for the last 8 years,” Zach said in his statement to TMZ.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Your nearest and dearest may be aware you do it, but you don’t discuss it with strangers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

“Well! Joe is a dear good fellow,—in fact, I think he is the dearest fellow that ever lived,—but he is rather backward in some things. For instance, Biddy, in his learning and his manners.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Related Words

• valuable