dear

/dɪər/ adjective

Definition

IN LETTERS › used at the beginning of a letter, before the name of the person you are writing to: Dear Amy Dear Mrs Simpson Dear Sir/Madam

LIKED [always before noun] › A dear person is someone who you know and like very much: my dear Peter He's one of my dearest friends.

EXPENSIVE UK › expensive: I wouldn't buy anything there, it's far too dear.

dear to sb/sb's heart › If something is dear to someone or dear to their heart, it is very important to them: The charity was very dear to his heart.

(Definition of dear adjective from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

If a reason, argument or explanation holds water, it is true

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