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1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use dear to describe someone or something that you feel affection for. □  Mrs Cavendish is a dear friend of mine.

2 ADJ If something is dear to you or dear to your heart , you care deeply about it. □  This is a subject very dear to the hearts of academics up and down the country.

3 ADJ [ADJ n] You use dear in expressions such as ' my dear fellow ', ' dear girl ', or ' my dear Richard ' when you are addressing someone whom you know and are fond of. You can also use expressions like this in a rude way to indicate that you think you are superior to the person you are addressing. [BRIT , FEELINGS ] □  Of course, Toby, my dear fellow, of course.

4 ADJ [ADJ n] Dear is written at the beginning of a letter, followed by the name or title of the person you are writing to. □  Dear Peter, I have been thinking about you so much during the past few days.

5 CONVENTION In British English, you begin formal letters with ' Dear Sir ' or ' Dear Madam '. In American English, you begin them with 'Sir' or 'Madam'. [WRITTEN ] □  'Dear sir,' she began.

6 N‑COUNT You can call someone dear as a sign of affection. [FEELINGS ] □  You're a lot like me, dear.

7 EXCLAM You can use dear in expressions such as ' oh dear ', ' dear me ', and ' dear, dear ' when you are sad, disappointed, or surprised about something. [FEELINGS ] □  'Oh dear, oh dear.' McKinnon sighed. 'You, too.'

8 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you say that something is dear , you mean that it costs a lot of money, usually more than you can afford or more than you think it should cost. [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □  Clothes here are much dearer than in the States.

9 PHRASE If something that someone does costs them dear , they suffer a lot as a result of it. □  Such complacency is costing the company dear.

dear|est /d I ə r I st/

1 ADJ [ADJ n] When you are writing to someone you are very fond of, you can use dearest at the beginning of the letter before the person's name. □  Dearest Maria, Aren't I terrible, not coming back like I promised?

2nearest and dearest → see near

dearie /d I ə ri/ N‑COUNT Some people use dearie as a friendly way of addressing someone, or as a way of showing that they think they are superior. [BRIT , INFORMAL , FEELINGS ]

dear|ly /d I ə ^r li/

1 ADV [ADV with v] If you love someone dearly , you love them very much. [FORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □  She loved her father dearly.

2 ADV [ADV before v] If you would dearly like to do or have something, you would very much like to do it or have it. [FORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □  I would dearly love to marry.

3 PHRASE If you pay dearly for doing something or if it costs you dearly , you suffer a lot as a result. [FORMAL ] □  He drank too much and is paying dearly for it.

dearth /dɜː ^r θ/ N‑SING If there is a dearth of something, there is not enough of it. □ [+ of ] …the dearth of good fiction by English authors.

death ◆◆◇ /de θ/ (deaths )

1 N‑VAR Death is the permanent end of the life of a person or animal. □  1.5 million people are in immediate danger of death from starvation. □  …the thirtieth anniversary of her death. □  There had been a death in the family.

2 N‑COUNT A particular kind of death is a particular way of dying. □  They made sure that he died a horrible death.

3 N‑SING The death of something is the permanent end of it. □  It meant the death of everything he had ever been or ever hoped to be.

4 PHRASE If you say that someone is at death's door , you mean they are very ill indeed and likely to die. [INFORMAL ] □  He told his boss a tale about his mother being at death's door.