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Synonyms

dream up

British  

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to invent by ingenuity and imagination

    to dream up an excuse for leaving
"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
dream up Idioms  

  1. Invent, concoct, as in Count on her to dream up some explanation for her absence. This expression replaced the somewhat earlier dream out. [c. 1940]

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.

The people who dream up the looks that sparkle at high-profile events, and who make sure that even if you don’t feel perfect, you at least look it.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026

Mars won’t pay the bills at SpaceX like its Starlink service or any of the other applications that Musk can dream up.

From Barron's • Jan. 8, 2026

You can use your cameo—and your friends’ cameos—to star in any video you dream up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 12, 2025

Then build the most fabulous, flavor-packed fruit salad you can dream up.

From Salon • May 31, 2025

There were so many kids there that he found it easy to hide and do what he did best: dream up his favorite fairy tales.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

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.