Idiom
nearest and dearest
Meaning
One's closest and most intimate family members, friends, etc.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I invited my nearest and dearest to the party.”
“She spent the holidays surrounded by her nearest and dearest at her family home.”
“In his final moments, he felt comforted knowing that his nearest and dearest were gathered by his side.”
Examples
simple
“I invited my nearest and dearest to the party.”
contextual
“She spent the holidays surrounded by her nearest and dearest at her family home.”
complex
“In his final moments, he felt comforted knowing that his nearest and dearest were gathered by his side.”
Origin
Attested since the 16th century, the expression appears to have established its adjectival form before the noun sense was recorded. The construction relies on the doubling of superlatives to denote close familial or emotional ties.
Key words
Related idioms
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