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

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nearest and dearest

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

Before Sunday's final against Spain, we hear Swiss stories from some of England's nearest and dearest, who send their good luck messages before one last push in Basel.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2025

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

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