{
    "term": "dear",
    "partOfSpeech": "adjective",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "used at the beginning of a letter before the name or title of the person that you are writing to",
            "labels": "(old-fashioned)",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Dear Sir or Madam"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Dear Mrs Jones"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Dear Beth/Dad/Aunt Susan"
                },
                {
                    "text": "My dear sister"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "loved by or important to somebody",
            "sensetop": "dear to somebody",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He's one of my **dearest friends**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They are grieving over their **dear departed** ones."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her daughter is very dear to her.",
                    "contextForm": "dear to somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They lost everything that was dear to them."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "used in speech or writing to address somebody in a polite or friendly way",
            "labels": "(old-fashioned)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Martin, my dear fellow…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Take my advice, dear reader."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "expensive; costing a lot of money",
            "labels": "(British English)",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Everything's so dear now, isn't it?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "There was a shortage of potatoes, and they became dear."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Money"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "having a lot of importance and interest for somebody",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to describe somebody in a way that shows love",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Dear old Sue! I knew she'd help."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Their baby's a dear little thing."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's always good to hear from dear old Harry!"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "as hard or as fast as possible",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She was holding on to the rope for dear life."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Run for your life!"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to hold somebody/something very tightly because you are afraid",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to care very much for somebody/something; to value somebody/something highly",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He had destroyed everything we held dear."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "your close family and friends",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": []
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪə(r)/",
                "audio": "de/dear/dear__gb_2.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪr/",
                "audio": "de/dear/dear__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English dēore, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dier ‘beloved’, also to Dutch duur and German teuer ‘expensive’."
}