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:
We’re not hiking through some dreamtime rave cave in the fifth dimension.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 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
She’s trying to make a point about downtime as dreamtime, a mode of passive-resistant creativity in an era of frantic, art fair-directed production.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2017
But is not Autumn dreamtime of the Spring?
From Path Flower and Other Verses by Olive Tilford Dargan
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
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
His Aboriginal Dreamtime paintings accrue from thousands of delicate concentric lines into undulant, intensely optical expressions that are topographical, abstract and beyond category.
From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2015
We can weave common myths such as the biblical creation story, the Dreamtime myths of Aboriginal Australians, and the nationalist myths of modern states.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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