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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.

A Brazilian man with a penchant for sporting records breaks a new one after tackling the most boring physical challenge he could dream up: running on a treadmill for 24 hours.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

If you should happen to dream up a scene in which a man runs screaming around the jungle with a wild boar strapped to his head, he’s the obvious pick to pull it off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

It sounds like something only the San Francisco tech scene could dream up: A newborn’s first-ever car ride takes place without a driver.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

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

From Salon • May 31, 2025

I could never dream up something this weird.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

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.