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

To even think about having the one project I held dear taken away from me?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

The title of Ryan Effgen’s appealing debut novel, “Make Nice,” alludes to the pet exhortation of dear old mom; it’s what she hoped for from her offspring at this five-day reunion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Your stepmother might say: “Of course, my dear, that makes perfect sense. I appreciate you telling me in advance.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

"There will never be another Ozzy. I miss you my dear friend."

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Oh dear oh dear oh dear, thought Duane.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

“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

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

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2016

My dears, I was quite exhausted just reading it.

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2012

Snatching the paper, I spoke in a monotone: You have helped me so much over these past few years, I just can't thank you enough, you wonderful dears.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

"You can give away lots of points, but if you're £5 dearer than your competitor, people will swap anyway."

From BBC ● May 10, 2026

"Of course Gaza is dearer than here, but there, there is no home left, nothing."

From Barron's ● May 9, 2026

“The freedom I had before the money was paid was dearer to me,” Ms. Jacobs wrote.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2023

I preferred the other books, the moderns, which were of course much dearer.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

She said the death had "shattered our family" and that her sister was the "dearest and most innocent member".

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 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

My husband and I watch “Love Is Blind” with one of those nearest and dearest, and we three approach each season like rabid sports fans who are only in it to yell at the TV.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

“Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026

This youngest child was the dearest of all to her, after two sons whom she had never been allowed to be close to.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks

Related Words

• valuable