valentine
noun
a card or message, usually amatory or sentimental but sometimes satirical or comical, or a token or gift sent by one person to another on Valentine's Day, sometimes anonymously.
valentine
1 American
[val-uhn-tahyn]
/ ˈvæl ənˌtaɪn /
noun
-
valentines
plural
-
a card or message, usually amatory or sentimental but sometimes satirical or comical, or a token or gift sent by one person to another on Valentine's Day, sometimes anonymously.
-
a sweetheart chosen or greeted on this day.
-
a written or other artistic work, message, token, etc., expressing affection for something or someone.
His photographic essay is a valentine to Paris.
Valentine
2
American
[val-uhn-tahyn]
/ ˈvæl ənˌtaɪn /
noun
-
Saint, died a.d. c270, Christian martyr at Rome.
-
Also pope a.d. 827.
-
a male given name: from a Latin word meaning “strong.”
valentine
1
British
/ ˈvælənˌtaɪn /
noun
-
a card or gift expressing love or affection, sent, often anonymously, to one's sweetheart or satirically to a friend, on Saint Valentine's Day
-
a sweetheart selected for such a greeting
Valentine
2
British
/ ˈvælənˌtaɪn /
noun
Usage
What is a valentine? A valentine is a card or gift given to someone for the occasion of Valentine’s Day, a holiday on February 14 that’s popularly observed as a day to celebrate love, especially by those in romantic relationships. Valentines are often intended as a declaration of love, but they can also be given as a gesture of friendship. Valentines are commonly exchanged by romantic partners, or given by someone who wants to show affection to or romantic interest in the recipient. But they can also be exchanged by family members and friends—children might make valentines for their parents and school students sometimes give valentines to all of their fellow classmates, for example. The classic version of a valentine is a card shaped like a heart, but they can come in many forms. Valentine messages can be serious or humorous or silly. The word valentine can also refer to the person to whom a valentine is given (or the person who gives it), or to a person’s date or romantic partner on Valentine’s Day. Asking someone to be your valentine typically conveys romantic interest—it most commonly means you want them to be your date for Valentine’s Day. However, this is not always the case. The term Valentine’s (or Valentines) is a short way of referring to Valentine’s Day, as in Do you have plans for Valentine’s yet?Valentine is also the name of a Christian saint whose feast day is observed on February 14. The name of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to this observance, though it may have also been influenced by another saint named Valentine. Example: I always send valentines anonymously—I just want to make people happy, without any obligation.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of valentine
1400–50; late Middle English, after the feast of Saint Valentine
Explanation
A valentine is a sweetheart: specifically, someone who receives a greeting or attention on Valentine's Day. There are many words for someone you like in a romantic way, such as sweetie, main squeeze, boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other, and special someone. Another is valentine, though you'll mainly hear this word on Valentine's Day: February 14. Asking "Will you be my valentine?" is like asking "Will you go out with me?" and saying "I like you." Sending a card is a common way to let someone know you want to be their valentine.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead, a good 50% of the tracks retreat to safer ground - slowly strummed songs of devotion, packed with valentine card sentiments.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
Director Stephen Soucy’s valentine of a documentary “Merchant Ivory” recounts their remarkable partnership as well as individual moments in their lives and careers.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2024
Other jobs followed, she recalled in an interview, allowing her to mail $100 enclosed in a valentine to her father.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024
It’s a thrilling and fascinating film, and a quiet valentine to the vanished skyscrapers.
From New York Times ● Sep. 11, 2020
“And he does show up from time to time. Once with a valentine he’d made out of shells.”
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
When her daughter, Valentine, was born, “it was a double whammy of like, who are you and what are you offering this world?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Valentine Nesbit “tabulated the expenses” of debtors who appeared in his court in the 1930s, “subtracted them from the debtor’s wages,” and paid the rest to creditors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
"We expect governments to spend more to support households and businesses", Valentine Ainouz, head of rates at the Amundi Investment Institute, told AFP.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
“I’m working with one now,” Valentine quips back.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
Valentine forever had the capacity to surprise me.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Feb. 14 was just a few days away, so the first action Rickman and other students took was delivering hundreds of valentines to the governor, expressing their support for university employees.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2025
These valentines were not of the handmade or heartfelt variety, but rather bought in bulk from CVS, from the red-cellophane aisle, on the shelf next to the seasonal Whitman’s Samplers and conversation hearts.
From New York Times ● Feb. 10, 2024
Its tone is admiring — as the series title implies, “American Masters” documentaries tend to be valentines, and there are more supporters than critics onscreen here.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
Hallmark, which began offering Valentine’s Day cards in 1913, estimates that today, 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, not including the kids’ valentines popular for classroom exchanges.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
If you were here now, we’d be sitting at the table making homemade valentines.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
