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

Sara and I grieve with the American people over the loss of our dear friend, Senator Lindsey Graham.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

"Our thoughts and prayers are for her dear family and friends," it added.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

But every time the hulking Haaland blazed toward the goal, with a pair of defenders hanging onto him for dear life, the stadium full of Brazilian supporters held its breath, for one simple reason.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

"God willing... we will go together to say goodbye to our dear leader."

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

"But you see, Marlie, my dear, I cannot swim."

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

“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

“Do not try to follow me, my dears, if you value your sanity.”

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

But the money would not go far, he said, as costs have gone up and "everything has gone dearer".

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

"We bring our children and teenagers alongside us so they can see military training, and whenever our leader, dearer than our lives, gives the command, we will all come to the field," she told AFP.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

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

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2023

“She will be dearer than my children because she will keep the memory alive of her father, mother and siblings.”

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2023

That also I could not understand; yet her humility made her dearer to me.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Even the non-thriller themes — female friendship, aging, ageism, admitting the truth about oneself to oneself and one’s dearest, the invigorating effects of danger — are explicitly expressed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

It’s a recipe that’s meant to be shared and enjoyed with your dearest loved ones.

From Salon ● May 10, 2026

Two of my dearest friends travel under ethnically neutral names that their parents changed from obviously Jewish ones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

As long as you and your wife have enough set aside for retirement, keep living the dream and passing it along to your nearest and dearest.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026

“I must not hope to be ever situated as you are, in the midst of every dearest connexion, and therefore I cannot expect that simply growing older should make me indifferent about letters.”

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

Related Words

• valuable