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

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

Disaster would often embrace not only the offender, but also his nearest and dearest, and all those responsible to him.

From Salon • Jun. 10, 2025

Describing himself as a "big family guy", the support of his nearest and dearest has been crucial.

From BBC • Sep. 2, 2024

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