loved one

plural loved ones

1. A very close friend or family member for whom a person has feelings of endearment, one of someone's close ones; sometimes: next of kin (for example on hospital admission form).

   It's gonna be easy to get things done / I will relax along with my loved ones / Loved ones, loved ones visit the building

   1977, David Byrne, “Don't Worry About the Government”, in Talking Heads: 77, performed by Talking Heads

   3 more examples

   I felt myself masculine, the protector of the weak, the fighting male. And, best of all, I felt myself the protector of my loved one. She leaned against me.

   1904, Jack London, chapter 30, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC

   Whereas once the main option was a traditional black hearse service, these days a "green funeral" with a cardboard coffin is just one of the alternative ways to send off a loved one.

   2003 March 29, Jessica Watson, “Laying to rest the days of his and hearse”, in Guardian (UK), retrieved 23 Jun 2008

   “Friends called around and sat on pillars outside the building and I talked to them out the window,” said Ms. Cunningham, who added that she kept in touch with loved ones over Zoom as well.

   2020 June 5, Alyson Krueger, “The Agonizing Question: Is New York City Worth It Anymore?”, in New York Times