nearest and dearest

Idioms  

1. One's closest and fondest friends, companions, or relatives, as in It's a small gathering—we're inviting only a dozen or so of our nearest and dearest. This rhyming expression has been used ironically since the late 1500s, as well as by Shakespeare in 1 Henry IV (3:2): “Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes, which art my nearest and dearest enemy?”

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Example Sentences

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

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

Speaking to the jury, Mr Jarvis said that this showed that Mr Ovsiannikov was aware of the sanctions "and he must have made his nearest and dearest aware of that too".

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2025

The fear that my nearest and dearest American friend might influence me in ways they didn't want me to be influenced.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi