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
-
a pleasant dreamlike fantasy indulged in while awake; idle reverie
-
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
-
daydreamsimple
-
daydreamssimple
-
have daydreamedperfect
-
has daydreamedperfect
-
am daydreamingprogressive
-
are daydreamingprogressive
-
is daydreamingprogressive
-
have been daydreamingperfect progressive
-
has been daydreamingperfect progressive
Past
-
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:
Opening your own book shop might be a lofty daydream for some bookworms looking to escape their 9-5, but more and more people are making it a reality.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
I daydream about the kishka dog in “Eat Jewish,” mourn Einstein Bros.’ discontinued bagel dog and would, without much arm-twisting, once again pay $28 for pigs in a blanket at the Ralph Lauren Club.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
“War Craft” is an uneasy and vivid blend of daydream and nightmarish reality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Eden convinced an initially reluctant Jordan it was time to make the daydream real, and “Ballet Reign” premiered on Dec. 21, 2022.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
She never quite approved of Ba’s stories, as she felt they made Minli impractical and caused her to daydream.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
And, occasionally, she wanders into daydreams that Hayakawa presents so matter-of-factly that viewers may sometimes be unsure if what they’re seeing is actually happening.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Musical daydreams, Ms. Margulis writes, are “among the most profound confirmations that radical interconnectedness lies at the heart of human cognition.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
She urges the medical profession to study music’s ability to “kickstart new patterns of thought” through daydreams as an alternative to drugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
On the itchy, impatient Can Time Move Faster, she daydreams about escaping its grasp.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
"It's all right. I still have daydreams about what might have been."
From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte
"I daydreamed a story," Hailey remembered on Desert Island Discs in 1986.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
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
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
She shared the good news with her roommates, her family and her favorite professor and daydreamed about her last day at her job, managing a gym called SnapFitness.
From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
Sometimes I daydreamed about discovering the secret of the gene, but not once did I have the faintest trace of a respectable idea.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
“I’ve asked my friends, and apparently my daydreaming or thinking face looks focused,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“When they were younger, I was daydreaming about the days that I would be an empty-nester,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 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
Sophie compared it to daydreaming, but is completely unaware of what she does in those moments and they leave her feeling drained and exhausted.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
In fact, they tried hard to discourage such daydreaming.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
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.
