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• darling
  darling

  noun

  a person very dear to another; one dearly loved.
• Darling
  Darling

  noun

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

darling

¹ American  

[dahr-ling] / ˈdɑr lɪŋ /

noun

• darlings
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• darlingness
  noun
• darlingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• darlings
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of darling

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

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Explanation

Use the word darling for someone you love or care for deeply. Your sweet old grandmother probably calls you darling. You can describe someone as being your darling, or address them that way: "I missed you so much while I was working on that fishing boat, darling!" Another way to use the word is for a generally lovable person: "Everyone adores Timmy, he's such a darling." The Old English root is deorling, a diminutive of deor, "dear."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

darling Darling darlings

These fruit-shaped Asian candies with a dual-layer gelatin framework have become a TikTok darling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

But there was still time for resident villain Horwood to direct a jibe at broadcaster Will Best's hip action: "Call in the paramedics darling, dislocation - my goodness."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

It continues the show’s darling status on the awards circuit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

“This morning, just after midnight, we lost our darling son and brother James, in a motor accident. We respectfully ask for privacy as a family, as we process this profound loss,” the post read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

I wonder how best to explain our situation to my darling little six-year-old cousin.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

In a hotel in Sydney's Darling Harbour, Alonso detailed the long path to Chelsea through his father, Periko Alonso, a fellow Spain international and former Real Sociedad and Barcelona player.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Riot decided on a radical revamp of its policies to allow more flexibility, said Riot President Hoby Darling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

“There is no question many people will have such machines in their homes eventually,” Darling told me, “and develop real emotional connections to them.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

"It feels good that we have a team that actually could win something for us," said Darling.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

Darling, what a question, but here goes: my nanny was a dreadful snob.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

The critics tangle with Taylor Swift: The singer’s recent singles, including “Patient Zero,” have not, to put it mildly, been critical darlings, but they are holding steady on the charts.

From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026

Wall Street blames rising interest rates for the slide in stock valuation multiples, which has impacted tech darlings like Nvidia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Chip makers have “moved from market darlings to volatility transmitters over the past month,” as Asian leadership has shifted toward consumer discretionary, financials, and energy, Munnelly says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Rotating away from erstwhile AI darlings has been in vogue of late.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

"My darlings, my sweet Cuquitas, have you eaten?"

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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