I. dream 1 S2 W2 /driːm/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: adjective : dream, ↑ dreamless , ↑ dreamy ; noun : ↑ dream , ↑ dreamer ; verb : ↑ dream ; adverb : ↑ dreamily ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: dream 'noise, great happiness' ]
1 . WHILE SLEEPING a series of thoughts, images, and feelings that you experience when you are asleep ⇨ daydream :
I had lots of dreams last night.
dream about
a dream about drowning
in a dream
In my dream I flew to a forest of enormous trees.
2 . WISH a wish to do, be, or have something – used especially when this seems unlikely:
Her dream is to make a movie.
dream of (doing) something
She had dreams of university.
fulfil/realize a dream
I fulfilled a childhood dream when I became champion.
I have just met the man of my dreams (=the perfect man) !
beyond your wildest dreams (=better than anything you imagined or hoped for)
3 . dream house/home/job etc something that seems perfect to someone:
I’ve finally found my dream house.
Win a dream holiday for two in San Francisco!
4 . in a dream having a state of mind in which you do not notice or pay attention to things around you:
Ruth went about her tasks in a dream.
5 . be a dream come true if something is a dream come true, it happens after you have wanted it to happen for a long time:
Marriage to her is a dream come true.
6 . like a dream extremely well or effectively:
The plan worked like a dream.
7 . be/live in a dream world to have ideas or hopes that are not correct or likely to happen:
If you think that all homeless people have it as easy as me, then you are living in a dream world.
8 . be a dream be perfect or very desirable:
Her latest boyfriend is an absolute dream.
Some performers are a dream to work with; others are not.
sb’s dream (=something someone would really like)
She’s every adolescent schoolboy’s dream.
9 . in your dreams spoken used to say in a rude way that something is not likely to happen:
‘I’m going to ask her to go out with me.’ ‘In your dreams!’
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ have a dream
I had a dream about you last night.
■ adjectives
▪ a bad dream (=unpleasant or frightening)
The movie gave the kids bad dreams.
▪ a strange/weird dream
Sometimes I have a strange dream in which I try to speak but I can’t.
▪ a vivid dream (=very clear)
In a vivid dream he saw a huge coloured bird flying above his head.
▪ a recurrent/recurring dream (=that you have many times)
Having recurrent dreams is a very common experience.
■ phrases
▪ be/seem like a dream (=seem unreal)
That summer was so wonderful it seemed like a dream.
▪ Sweet dreams! (=said to someone who is going to bed)
Good night, Sam! Sweet dreams!
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ verbs
▪ have a dream/dreams
I had dreams of becoming a doctor.
▪ achieve/fulfil/realize a dream (=do or get what you want)
He had finally achieved his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal.
▪ pursue/follow a dream (=try to do or get what you want)
She left her home town to pursue her dreams.
▪ dream a dream literary (=have a wish)
We can dream great dreams for ourselves and others.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + dream
▪ big/great dreams (=a wish to achieve great things)
She was a little girl with big dreams.
▪ an impossible dream (=about something that cannot happen)
Having a number one record had seemed an impossible dream.
▪ a childhood dream (=that you had when you were a child)
I had a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.
▪ a lifelong dream (=that you have had all your life)
His lifelong dream had been to write a novel.
▪ a distant dream (=that it will take a long time to achieve)
Peace in this area may still be a distant dream.
■ phrases
▪ a dream comes true (=something you want happens)
I’d always wanted to go to Africa and at last my dream came true.
▪ the man/woman/house etc of your dreams (=the perfect one for you)
We can help you find the house of your dreams.
▪ not/never in your wildest dreams (=used to say that you had never expected something to happen)
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win the competition.
▪ beyond your wildest dreams (=better or more than you ever hoped for)
Suddenly he was wealthy beyond his wildest dreams.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ when you are sleeping
▪ dream the thoughts, images, and feelings that go through your mind while you are asleep:
I had a strange dream last night -- you and I were in some sort of forest.
▪ nightmare a very unpleasant and frightening dream:
She still has terrible nightmares about the accident.
▪ daydream a series of pleasant thoughts that go through your mind when you are awake, so that you do not notice what is happening around you:
Neil was in a daydream, and didn’t hear the teacher call his name.
▪ reverie formal a state of imagining or thinking about pleasant things, that is like dreaming:
The doorbell rang, shaking her from her reverie.
■ something that you want to do
▪ dream something very special that you want to do and that you think about a lot, especially something that is not very likely to happen:
As a teenager, his dream was to become a professional footballer.
▪ ambition something that you want to achieve and that you work hard to achieve, especially in your work:
My ambition had always been to start my own business.
▪ aspirations the important things that people want from their lives – used especially about the things a society or a large group of people wants:
It’s important that young people think seriously about their career aspirations.
▪ fantasy something exciting that you imagine happening to you, which is extremely unlikely to happen and often involves sex:
schoolboy fantasies
▪ pipe dream a dream that is impossible or is extremely unlikely to happen:
Is world peace no more than a pipe dream?
II. dream 2 S3 W3 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle dreamed or dreamt /dremt/)
[ Word Family: adjective : dream, ↑ dreamless , ↑ dreamy ; noun : ↑ dream , ↑ dreamer ; verb : ↑ dream ; adverb : ↑ dreamily ]
1 . WISH [intransitive and transitive] to think about something that you would like to happen or have
dream of/about (doing) something
She dreamed of becoming a chef.
He’s got the sort of money that you and I can only dream about.
dream (that)
She dreamed that one day she would be famous.
2 . WHILE SLEEPING [intransitive and transitive] to have a dream while you are asleep
dream about
I dreamt about you last night.
dream (that)
It’s quite common to dream that you’re falling.
3 . NOT PAY ATTENTION [intransitive] to think about something else and not give your attention to what is happening around you SYN daydream :
She had been dreaming and had not followed the conversation.
4 . IMAGINE [intransitive and transitive] to imagine that you have done, seen, or heard something that you have not:
I was sure I posted the letter but I must have dreamt it.
5 . never dreamed (that) used to say that you did not think that something would happen:
We never dreamed that we would get through to the next round.
6 . wouldn’t dream of (doing) something spoken used to say that you would never do something because you think it is bad or wrong:
I wouldn’t dream of letting strangers look after my own grandmother!
7 . who would have dreamt that ...? spoken used to express surprise about something that has happened:
Who would have dreamt that this would happen?
dream something ↔ away phrasal verb
to waste time by thinking about what may happen:
She would just sit in her room dreaming away the hours.
dream on phrasal verb [only in imperative] spoken
used to tell someone that they are hoping for something that will not happen:
You think I’m going to help you move house? Dream on!
dream something ↔ up phrasal verb
to think of a plan or idea, especially an unusual one:
He was continually dreaming up new schemes to promote and enlarge the business.