dream
Americannoun
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dreams
plural
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a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.
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the sleeping state in which this occurs.
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an object seen in a dream.
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an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake.
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a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie.
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an aspiration; goal; aim.
A trip to Europe is his dream.
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a wild or vain fancy.
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something of an unreal beauty, charm, or excellence.
verb (used without object)
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dreams,
present (3rd person singular)
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dreamed,
past participle, past
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dreamt,
past participle, past
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dreaming
present participle
-
to have a dream.
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to indulge in daydreams or reveries.
He dreamed about vacation plans when he should have been working.
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to think or conceive of something in a very remote way (usually followed byof ).
I wouldn't dream of asking them.
verb (used with object)
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dreams,
present (3rd person singular)
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dreamed,
past participle, past
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dreamt,
past participle, past
-
dreaming
present participle
-
to see or imagine in sleep or in a vision.
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to imagine as if in a dream; fancy; suppose.
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to pass or spend (time) in dreaming (often followed byaway ).
to dream away the afternoon.
adjective
verb phrase
noun
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mental activity, usually in the form of an imagined series of events, occurring during certain phases of sleep
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( as modifier )
a dream sequence
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( in combination )
dreamland
-
-
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a sequence of imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake; daydream; fantasy
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( as modifier )
a dream world
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a person or thing seen or occurring in a dream
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a cherished hope; ambition; aspiration
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a vain hope
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a person or thing that is as pleasant, or seemingly unreal, as a dream
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to move, develop, or work very well
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to undergo or experience (a dream or dreams)
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(intr) to indulge in daydreams
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(intr) to suffer delusions; be unrealistic
you're dreaming if you think you can win
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to have an image (of) or fantasy (about) in or as if in a dream
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to consider the possibility (of)
I wouldn't dream of troubling you
adjective
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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dreamfulnessnoun
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dreamingnoun
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dreamlessnessnoun
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redreamverb
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dreamfuladjective
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dreamlessadjective
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dreamlikeadjective
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undreamedadjective
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undreamingadjective
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undreamlikeadjective
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dreamfullyadverb
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dreaminglyadverb
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dreamlesslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dreamsimple
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dreamssimple
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have dreamedperfect
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have dreamtperfect
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has dreamedperfect
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has dreamtperfect
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am dreamingprogressive
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are dreamingprogressive
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is dreamingprogressive
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have been dreamingperfect progressive
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has been dreamingperfect progressive
Past
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dreamedsimple
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dreamtsimple
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had dreamedperfect
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had dreamtperfect
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was dreamingprogressive
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were dreamingprogressive
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had been dreamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dream
First recorded in 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”
Explanation
A dream is one of the little movies in your mind that play at night, or a type of hope: you might dream of being a doctor. Everyone dreams, and dreams tend to be weird, but the images and sounds that fill your head as you sleep are just part of the meaning of this word. People also have dreams that are kind of like plans and goals: many people dream of being movie stars. A good car runs like a dream. Something too good to be true feels like a dream. If you're acting confused, someone might say, "Stop dreaming!"
Vocabulary lists containing dream
Name On: Pro Sports Team Names, Part 2
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 1
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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:
I think in the old days she was proud of me being successful in having my dream of becoming an actor come true.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Muriel Spark took a break from writing novels to dream up a whimsical tale of a clever timepiece.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
"It was always my dream to play professional and international cricket, and doing so for Hampshire and England has been nothing short of living out those same childhood dreams," Turner added.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
For Rivera, at the time, it was a dream position.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Some dream, he thought, as the trees bobbed in the rising water.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
"I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to pursue my dreams," Pawarisa Maylissa, a grade 12 student who hopes to attend medical school, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
"We want to reach Europe and fulfil our dreams and those of our families," Ahmad, a migrant from Yemen, told AFPTV.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
"It was always my dream to play professional and international cricket, and doing so for Hampshire and England has been nothing short of living out those same childhood dreams," Turner added.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
She inspired “hope ... that all dreams may be reached.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
She tossed and turned and drifted in and out of strange, restless dreams about a guidebook.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Zigzagging between robots, weapons and computers in his garage workshop, Ukrainian engineer Eduard Trotsenko was bubbling with excitement as he showed off his latest prototypes and dreamed of sci-fi-inspired futuristic ideas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
"It slows you down and you get to see places you just wouldn't see in a car. We've seen places we just never would have dreamed of stopping at before."
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Ngake dreamed of not only personal success, but profound change.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Events occurring in the broader world also influenced what people dreamed about.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
And meanwhile, in the shop, I was finding a joy in work that I’d never dreamed of.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
"That was the moment I realised somebody had to do something," said the wildlife biologist, who never dreamt of a career revolving around the sea.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
For Sonnenshine, who was in the middle of working on Season 2, the reality of making the series has been even more rewarding than what she dreamt of as a child.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
“We made it to America. You dreamt about that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
This transfer marks the latest step in a rapid rise for the 20-year-old, who dreamt of playing in the Premier League.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
But that vision came and went quickly in her mind and she began to wonder whether she had dreamt it.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
You've been dreaming about that summer break on the sun lounger, book in one hand and drink in the other, for months.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Natasha Watley grew up dreaming about playing for the Atlanta Braves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
These findings suggest that dreaming is not a simple replay system.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Your inclination toward dreaming, and how easily you are consumed by it, is your heart’s way of creating not just a gorgeous life for yourself, but a more rose-tinted world for everyone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
As a child, he had been something of a loner, reading adventure stories during his school days and dreaming of fame and fortune.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
