dream

[ dreem ]

/ drim /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dream ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.

the sleeping state in which this occurs.

an object seen in a dream.

an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake.

a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie.

an aspiration; goal; aim: A trip to Europe is his dream.

a wild or vain fancy.

something of an unreal beauty, charm, or excellence.

verb (used without object), dreamed or dreamt, dream·ing.

to have a dream.

to indulge in daydreams or reveries: He dreamed about vacation plans when he should have been working.

to think or conceive of something in a very remote way (usually followed by of): I wouldn't dream of asking them.

verb (used with object), dreamed or dreamt, dream·ing.

to see or imagine in sleep or in a vision.

to imagine as if in a dream; fancy; suppose.

to pass or spend (time) in dreaming (often followed by away): to dream away the afternoon.

adjective

most desirable; ideal: a dream vacation.

Verb Phrases

dream up, to form in the imagination; devise: They dreamed up the most impossible plan.

Nearby words

dread, dreadful, dreadfully, dreadlocks, dreadnought, dream, dream act, dream analysis, dream book, dream come true, a, dream merchant

Origin of dream

1200–50; Middle English dreem, Old English drēam joy, mirth, gladness, cognate with Old Saxon drōm mirth, dream, Old Norse draumr, Old High German troum dream; modern sense first recorded in ME but presumably also current in Old English, as in Old Saxon

Related forms

dream·ful, adjectivedream·ful·ly, adverbdream·ful·ness, noundream·ing·ly, adverb

dream·like, adjectivere·dream, verb, re·dreamed or re·dreamt, re·dream·ing.un·dreamed, adjectiveun·dream·ing, adjectiveun·dream·like, adjective

Synonym study

1. Dream, nightmare, and vision refer to the kinds of mental images that form during sleep. Dream is the general term for any such succession of images. A nightmare is a dream that brings fear or anxiety: frightened by a nightmare. Vision refers to a series of images of unusual vividness, clarity, order, and significance, sometimes seen in a dream.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dream

The Eighty-ninth Congress was potentially more fertile ground for the broad range of controversial programs on his dream agenda.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I fall back into a dream and then suddenly there is a tapping on the window just above my bed.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So where does this leave the millions of Palestinians—like my relatives—who dream of self-determination and a sovereign state?
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead|Dean Obeidallah|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“It is his dream [to go to Congress] and he is going to be running,” Molinari said.
Will Dirty Pol Vito Fossella Replace Dirty Pol Michael Grimm?|David Freedlander|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In this American dream, we move where the jobs are to realize social mobility.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The body was carried up the side, and uncovered, just as Mrs. Dodd saw in her dream.
Hard Cash|Charles Reade
All his desperate sorrow of the morning and the horror of his dream were gone.
Lady Into Fox|David Garnett
Is Love ours, and do we dream we know it, Bound with all our heart-strings, all our own?
Legends and Lyrics: Second Series|Adelaide Anne Procter
But who was to dream that he would arrange to leave it at such an unearthly time of the morning at this dark season of the year?
The Hand of Ethelberta|Thomas Hardy
There was about it an undulating and aerial grace, such as one might dream of for some mythic and allegorical being.
Uncle Tom's Cabin|Harriet Beecher Stowe

British Dictionary definitions for dream

dream

/ (driːm) /

noun

mental activity, usually in the form of an imagined series of events, occurring during certain phases of sleep
(as modifier)a dream sequence
(in combination)dreamland Related adjective: oneiric

a sequence of imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake; daydream; fantasy
(as modifier)a dream world

a person or thing seen or occurring in a dream

a cherished hope; ambition; aspiration

a vain hope

a person or thing that is as pleasant, or seemingly unreal, as a dream

go like a dream to move, develop, or work very well

verb dreams, dreaming, dreamed or dreamt (drɛmt)

(may take a clause as object) to undergo or experience (a dream or dreams)

(intr) to indulge in daydreams

(intr) to suffer delusions; be unrealisticyou're dreaming if you think you can win

(when intr, foll by of or about) to have an image (of) or fantasy (about) in or as if in a dream

(intr foll by of) to consider the possibility (of)I wouldn't dream of troubling you

adjective

too good to be true; idealdream kitchen

Derived Forms

dreamful, adjectivedreamfully, adverbdreaming, noun, adjectivedreamingly, adverb

dreamless, adjectivedreamlessly, adverbdreamlessness, noundreamlike, adjective

Word Origin for dream

Old English drēam song; related to Old High German troum, Old Norse draumr, Greek thrulos noise

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for dream

dream

[ drēm ]

n.

A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.

Idioms and Phrases with dream

dream

In addition to the idioms beginning with dream

dream come true, a
dream up

also see:

pipe dream
sweet dreams
wouldn't dream of

dream

noun

verb (used without object), dreamed or dreamt, dream·ing.

verb (used with object), dreamed or dreamt, dream·ing.

adjective

Verb Phrases

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of dream

Related forms

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for dream

British Dictionary definitions for dream

dream

noun

verb dreams, dreaming, dreamed or dreamt (drɛmt)

adjective

Derived Forms

Word Origin for dream

Medicine definitions for dream

dream

n.

Idioms and Phrases with dream

dream