dream

dream / drēm/ • n. a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep: I had a recurrent dream about falling from great heights. ∎  [in sing.] a state of mind in which someone is or seems to be unaware of their immediate surroundings: he had been walking around in a dream all day. ∎  a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal: I fulfilled a childhood dream when I became champion | the girl of my dreams | [as adj.] they'd found their dream home. ∎  an unrealistic or self-deluding fantasy: maybe he could get a job and earn some money—but he knew this was just a dream. ∎  a person or thing perceived as wonderful or perfect: her new man's an absolute dream | it was a dream of a backhand | she's a couturier's dream. • v. (past and past part. dreamed or dreamt / dremt/ ) [intr.] 1. experience dreams during sleep: I dreamed about her last night. ∎  [tr.] see, hear, or feel (something) in a dream: maybe you dreamed it | I dreamed that I was going to be executed. ∎  indulge in daydreams or fantasies, typically about something greatly desired: she had dreamed of a trip to Italy. ∎  [tr.] (dream time away) waste one's time in a lazy, unproductive way. 2. contemplate the possibility of doing something or that something might be the case: I wouldn't dream of foisting myself on you | I never dreamed anyone would take offense. PHRASES: beyond one's wildest dreams bigger or better than could be reasonably expected: stockbrokers command salaries beyond the wildest dreams of most workers. in your dreams used in spoken English to assert that something much desired is not likely ever to happen. in one's wildest dreams used to emphasize that a situation is beyond the scope of one's imagination: she could never in her wildest dreams have imagined the summer weather in New York. like a dream inf. very well or successfully: the car is still running like a dream.PHRASAL VERBS: dream on [in imper.] inf. used, esp. in spoken English, as an ironic comment on the unlikely or impractical nature of a plan or aspiration: Dean thinks he's going to get the job. Dream on, babe. dream something up imagine or invent something: he's been dreaming up new ways of attracting customers.DERIVATIVES: dream·ful / -fəl/ adj. ( poetic/lit. ) dream·less adj. dream·like / -ˌlīk/ adj. ORIGIN: Middle English: of Germanic origin, related to Dutch droom and German Traum, and probably also to Old English drēam ‘joy, music.’