What does "dream" mean?
Imaginary events seen in the mind while sleeping.
Dream
/dɹiːm/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Imaginary events seen in the mind while sleeping.
- Grammar: dream is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ambition, dreaming, absence of mind, absentmindedness.
- Useful contrasts: actualize, awake, execute.
- Usage evidence: How could I be a robot? Robots don't dream.
How to use "dream"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dream" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dream" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dream" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dream" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dream" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ambition" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dream", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Imaginary events seen in the mind while sleeping. countable
"have a dream"
- 2 Acronym of development, relief, and education for alien minors. US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
"For years, my state of Washington tried to pass its own state Dream Act. […] If President Trump will not protect Dreamers, Congress must immediately pass the bipartisan DREAM Act and provide permanent protection for these young Americans."
- 3 a fantastic but vain hope (from fantasies induced by the opium pipe) wordnet
- 4 A hope or wish. countable, figuratively
"have a dream"
- 5 a state of mind characterized by abstraction and release from reality wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A visionary scheme; a wild conceit; an idle fancy.
"live in a dream"
- 7 a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep wordnet
- 8 imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake wordnet
- 9 a cherished desire wordnet
- 10 someone or something wonderful wordnet
Verb
- 1 To see imaginary events in one's mind while sleeping. intransitive
"Although people primarily dream during the REM phase of sleeping, they can dream during non-REM sleep as well."
- 2 have a daydream; indulge in a fantasy wordnet
- 3 To hope, to wish. intransitive
"Lucy dreams of becoming a scientist when she'll grow up."
- 4 experience while sleeping wordnet
- 5 To daydream. intransitive
"Stop dreaming and get back to work."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To envision as an imaginary experience (usually when asleep). transitive
"I dreamed a vivid dream last night."
- 7 To consider the possibility (of). intransitive
"I wouldn't dream of snubbing you in public."
Adjective
- 1 Ideal; perfect. not-comparable
"Gonna drive back down where you once belonged / In the back of a dream car, twenty foot long"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"How could I be a robot? Robots don't dream."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dream"?
Common synonyms include: ambition, dreaming, absence of mind, absentmindedness, absorption, abstractedness.
How do you use "dream" in a sentence?
How could I be a robot? Robots don't dream.
How do you pronounce "dream"?
Pronounced /dɹiːm/.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- Proto-West Germanic *draum Old English drēam Middle English drem English dream From Middle English drem, from Old English drēam (“music, joy”), from Proto-West Germanic *draum, from Proto-Germanic *draumaz, from earlier *draugmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrowgʰ-mos, from *dʰrewgʰ- (“to deceive, injure, damage”). The sense of "dream", though not attested in Old English, may still have been present (compare Old Saxon drōm (“bustle, revelry, jubilation", also "dream”)), and was undoubtedly reinforced later in Middle English by Old Norse draumr (“dream”), from same Proto-Germanic root. Cognate with Scots dreme (“dream”), Saterland Frisian Droom (“dream”), West Frisian dream (“dream”), Dutch droom (“dream”), German Traum (“dream”), Limburgish Droum (“dream”), Luxembourgish Dram (“dream”), Yiddish טרוים (troym, “dream”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål drøm, Faroese dreymur (“dream”), Icelandic draumur (“dream”), Norwegian Nynorsk draum (“dream”), Swedish dröm (“dream”). Related also to Old Norse draugr (“ghost, undead, spectre”), Dutch bedrog (“deception, deceit”), German Trug (“deception, illusion”). The verb is from Middle English dremen, possibly (see below) from Old English drīeman (“to make a joyous sound with voice or with instrument; rejoice; sing a song; play on an instrument”), from Proto-Germanic *draumijaną, *draugmijaną (“to be festive, dream, hallucinate”), from the noun. Cognate with Scots dreme (“to dream”), Saterland Frisian drööme (“to dream”), West Frisian dreame (“to dream”), Dutch dromen (“to dream”), German träumen (“to dream”), Luxembourgish dreemen (“to dream”), Yiddish טרוימען (troymen, “to dream”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål drømme (“to dream”), Faroese droyma (“to dream”), Icelandic dreyma (“to dream”), Norwegian Nynorsk drømma, drømme, drøyma, drøyme (“to dream”), Swedish drömma (“to dream, muse”). more details The derivation from Old English drēam is controversial, since the word itself is only attested in writing in its meaning of “joy, mirth, musical sound”. Possibly there was a separate word drēam meaning “images seen while sleeping”, which was avoided in literature due to potential confusion with the “joy” sense. Otherwise, the modern sense must have been borrowed from another Germanic language, most probably Old Norse. Since this is the common sense in all Germanic languages outside the British isles, a spontaneous development from “joy, mirth” to “dream” in Middle English is hardly conceivable. In Old Saxon, the cognate drōm did mean “dream”, but was a rare word. Attested words for “sleeping vision” in Old English, both of which appeared in The Dream of the Rood, were mǣting (Middle English mæte, mete), from an unclear source, and swefn (Modern English sweven), from Proto-Germanic *swefnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *swepno-, *swep-; compare Ancient Greek ὕπνος (húpnos, “sleep”).