daydream
Americannoun
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daydreams
plural
verb (used without object)
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daydreams,
present (3rd person singular)
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daydreamed,
past participle, past
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daydreaming
present participle
noun
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a pleasant dreamlike fantasy indulged in while awake; idle reverie
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a pleasant scheme or wish that is unlikely to be fulfilled; pipe dream
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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daydreamsimple
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daydreamssimple
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have daydreamedperfect
-
has daydreamedperfect
-
am daydreamingprogressive
-
are daydreamingprogressive
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is daydreamingprogressive
-
have been daydreamingperfect progressive
-
has been daydreamingperfect progressive
Past
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daydreamedsimple
-
had daydreamedperfect
-
was daydreamingprogressive
-
were daydreamingprogressive
-
had been daydreamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of daydream
Explanation
A daydream is a fantasy you have while you're awake. Daydreams are pleasant, and they can be so absorbing that they distract you from what's going on around you. You might have a daydream about moving to a big city, or about how you'd spend your millions if you won the lottery. To do this — dream, muse, or fantasize — is also to daydream. Your math teacher might scold you, saying, "You can't daydream in the middle of the calculus final!" The word dates from the 17th century.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The reward, for him, was in the doing, in taking a daydream and forming it into an idea that he could shape into something real in the world, blending the mundane and the macabre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
"That's what life's about, right? You daydream and you dream about the biggest things possible. Then you try and make it a reality."
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The success of the bearded, ass-kicking Ranger marked a stunning reversal of fortune for Norris, who grew up a shy, unathletic child, who "used to daydream about being strong...to beat up the bullies".
From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026
She knows that writers need nonwriting jobs and suggests ones with room to daydream.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
For the first time in a long while, she was able to daydream.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Researchers have begun poking around in our musical daydreams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
"The office cubicle has trapped me again," he says as he daydreams of a holiday on the continent.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
Brian Bartelt, who grew up in Appleton, said his wife sometimes daydreams about warmer weather, but he sees no need to look elsewhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026
“I’ve had all sorts of daydreams about every pitching thing possible as a kid — relieving, closing out a game, starting in the World Series,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2025
I was almost thirteen years old now, and it was hard to remember any other life—except for my daydreams of food.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
Commander Murphy likened Khalife to the self-aggrandising fictional character Walter Mitty, who daydreamed about extraordinary personal triumphs.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2024
For years, April had daydreamed about seeing Hunter again, imagining that he would still be the little boy she remembered.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2024
But since his death on Apr. 1, their mother, Inshirah — who once daydreamed of seeing Saifeddin get married — has been unable to accept that he is gone.
From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2024
Vincent‘s purchase came after years of perusing yard sales and thrift stores with her mother. She loves PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow” and has daydreamed many times of this kind of lottery ticket-level transaction.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
But when I daydreamed, I continued to look at the teacher and pretend I was paying attention because Papa told me it was disrespectful not to pay attention, especially to grownups.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
Dr Meneka Sidhu, a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, said typical absence seizures usually last seconds and the person affected may appear to be daydreaming or looking blank.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
“I’ve asked my friends, and apparently my daydreaming or thinking face looks focused,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
You are standing in line alongside everyone else, daydreaming about whatever, when, out of the corner of your eye, you see a few men sprinting down the street in the opposite direction.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
When a promotion affords her a workspace, she cultivates a fixation with paperweights, which help keep her daydreaming grounded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
His mind had paused in puzzled frustration at the golden corner of an eye when Zahotep’s touch on his shoulder brought him with a start out of his daydreaming.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
