Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
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.

It’s a lot easier to gain mass user adoption if your A.I.’s value proposition includes the ability to dream up a hyperrealistic photograph and make it show up on your phone.

From Slate • Feb. 10, 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

My main task at Annie’s is to keep her company while we dream up new ideas for our 1,001 Cool Things to Build List.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio

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.