dreamtime
noun
the ancient time of the creation of all things by sacred ancestors, whose spirits continue into the present, as conceived in Australian Aboriginal mythology.
dreamtime
American
[dreem-tahym]
/ ˈdrimˌtaɪm /
noun
Dreamtime
British
/ ˈdriːmtaɪm /
noun
-
Also called: alchera. alcheringa. (in the mythology of Australian Aboriginal peoples) a mythical Golden Age of the past
-
informal any remote period, out of touch with the actualities of the present
Etymology
Origin of dreamtime
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:
Peacocks, jellyfish, giant frogs and a mermaid inhabit a dreamtime of otherworldly balance in the gouaches and watercolors, all from the 1950s and ’60s, of this presentation.
From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
It’s a meditation on the psychic effects of motherland dreamtime: “Darker the berry, sweeter the fruit/ Deeper the wounded, deeper the roots/ Nubian doused in brown, I’m loungin’ in it.
From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2019
Nango's tale was more than an aboriginal "dreamtime" story.
From Science Magazine ● Jul. 19, 2017
“Often my dreamtime recipes come out somewhat better than my waking recipes. My husband, John, thinks I should write a cookbook called ‘Dream On: Adventures in Sleepcooking.’
From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2017
Youth be bearer Soon of hardihood; Life be fairer, Loyaller to good; Till the far lamps vanish into light, Rest in the dreamtime.
From The Hill A Romance of Friendship by Horace Annesley Vachell
In a statement, Dreamtime Dentistry said it was “deeply saddened by the tragic passing of our young patient, which occurred several hours after her completed dental procedure.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025
To be honest, flying on a swan through Dreamtime is positively vanilla compared with some of the stuff that goes on here at 5am on Monday morning.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 26, 2020
“Weatherby places it even farther back in time than the First Century, into the Dreamtime, which constitutes the deepest reality and strongest identity marker for Australia’s Indigenous people.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2020
Just look at Joe Hill and Angie Perry-Mansell, the couple behind Dreamtime Bakehouse and Grow Tours, Darwin-based businesses that have a flavor all their own.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2018
Behind him, a transparent Aboriginal Custodian whispers calmly his Dreamtime story of creation by a fish.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
