darling

¹ American  

[dahr-ling] / ˈdɑr lɪŋ /

noun

1. a person very dear to another; one dearly loved.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address.

3. a person or thing in great favor; a favorite.

   She was the darling of caf é society.

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adjective

1. very dear; dearly loved.

   my darling child.

2. favorite; cherished.

3. Informal. charming; cute; lovable.

   What a darling baby!

Darling ² American  

[dahr-ling] / ˈdɑr lɪŋ /

noun

1. Jay Norwood Ding, 1876–1962, U.S. political cartoonist.

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darling ¹ British  

/ ˈdɑːlɪŋ /

noun

1. a person very much loved: often used as a term of address

2. a favourite

   the teacher's darling

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adjective

1. beloved

2. much admired; pleasing

   a darling hat

Darling ² British  

/ ˈdɑːlɪŋ /

noun

1. Grace. 1815–42, English national heroine, famous for her rescue (1838) of some shipwrecked sailors with her father, a lighthouse keeper

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Other Word Forms

• darlingly adverb
• darlingness noun

Etymology

Origin of darling

before 900; Middle English derling, Old English dēorling. See dear ¹, -ling ¹

Example Sentences

CoreWeave has a path to becoming an AI darling once again.

From Barron's

His next movie was another one that nobody wanted, a romantic comedy in 1985 called “The Sure Thing” that was once again a critical darling.

From The Wall Street Journal

The former pandemic darling was forced to contend with the fallout from operational missteps as well as broader macroeconomic pressure that extended to all technology stocks with lofty valuations.

From Barron's

This cash position might explain why it hasn’t gone the route of the year’s most recent meme-stock darling, Beyond Meat.

From Barron's

Emmy darlings “The Studio” and “The Pitt” emerged with three and two nominations, respectively.

From The Wall Street Journal