dream about (someone or something)

1. To fantasize about someone or something, especially doing something as one's goal or ambition. I've dreamed about being an astronaut since I was eight years old. I've dreamed about this moment. I can't believe it's actually happening. Back in high school, I dreamed about him. Now we're together and he's everything to me.

2. To envision someone or something in one's sleep. While recovering from dental surgery, I actually dreamed about all the foods I couldn't eat. Waking up was quite a disappointment! What does it mean if you keep dreaming about the same person every night? I think it's normal to still dream about your ex-boyfriend. It's not like you guys have been broken up for that long.

dream away

To waste time absorbed in fantasies. A noun or pronoun can be used between "dream" and "away." You'll be up all night doing your book report if you just lay around and dream away the day. Of course she's a teenager in love—all she does anymore is dream the day away! I know you've been sitting at your computer, but have you done anything besides dream the time away? You're just staring at a blank document!

dream of (someone or something)

1. To fantasize about someone or something, especially doing something as one's goal or ambition. I've dreamed of being an astronaut since I was eight years old. I've dreamed of this moment. I can't believe it's actually happening. Back in high school, I dreamed of him. Now we're together and he's everything to me.

2. To envision someone or something in one's sleep. While recovering from dental surgery, I actually dreamed of all the foods I couldn't eat. Waking up was quite a disappointment! What does it mean if you keep dreaming of the same thing every night? I think it's normal to still dream of your ex-boyfriend. It's not like you guys have been broken up for that long.

dream up

To invent or imagine something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "dream" and "up." No, Meredith used to flirt with me all the time—I didn't just dream up her romantic interest in me, I swear! I can't wait to hear the excuse you've dreamed up this time! Only Bobby would dream up a ridiculous stunt like that. He's lucky he didn't get himself killed!

See also: dream, up

dream something away

Fig. to waste away a period of time having fantasies. I just want to sit in the sun and dream the day away. Don't dream away your life!

dream something up

Fig. to invent something; to fabricate something. (The something can be the word something.) I don't know what to do, but I'll dream something up. Please dream up a solution for this problem.

See also: dream, up

dream up

Invent, concoct, as in Count on her to dream up some explanation for her absence. This expression replaced the somewhat earlier dream out. [c. 1940]

See also: dream, up

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dream up

To concoct something, especially a plan or idea that is viewed as impractical: We dreamed up a plan to take over the company. They dreamed a plan up that would allow them to retire next year. What happens in the book is more magical than anything I could dream up.

See also: dream, up

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References in periodicals archive

One day talking to some teachers, a teacher (male) mentioned, to the other teachers, of having dreamt about a pig some nights before, and he had purchased a lottery ticket and was waiting to see if he had won.

Where dreams are real

He believed that everything in your dream is you, or a representation of something you are, or imagine yourself to be, but that some of the symbols you dreamt about - snakes, a house, a cave, a sword - could be shown to be used in a similar context by everyone.

Mind games? - dream on

In keeping with the above, Martha's distressing dreams are disclosing her painful existential situation--her realisations about everyday limitations, uncertainty and mortality--while at the same time her dreamt and waking panic has maintained limited self reflection and openness to herself.

Bad dreams are made of this: looking at distressing dreams in light of Heidegger's Befindlichkeit and Boss' dream theories

Abraham Lincoln dreamt that there was funeral in the White House.

Sandra's advice: What is a precognitive dream? Sandra Ramdhanie is a Psychic Consultant, paranormal author and researcher. She has helped probe some of Ireland's most baffling cases of supernatural events

I recently dreamt I was at my parents' house when I realized I was late to class and had left my dance bag, with my shoes inside, at the studio.

Preludes and nocturnes: dancers dream about dance: dreams are often stages for our obsessions. For dancers, this can take on a more literal meaning. In the February issue, we invited you to write and tell us your dance dreams. Here are some responses

Exams: Most of us have dreamt of taking an exam at some time in our lives.

Healthy People: The A-Zzzz of dreams; Ever wondered why you dream of flying or being naked in a public place? CLARE SWATMAN explains what happens when you sleep..

Because lucid dreaming is so vivid, it ensures you remember what you dreamt. You can also learn how to prolong and guide the dream, letting ideas develop.

IN YOUR DREAMS

I was just about to drown when I woke up." On another night, he also dreamt: "I was swept away in a whirlwind.

The Nature and Uses of DREAMING

"Most were not only unable to recall any dream content but actively denied having dreamt at all," says psychologist Peretz Lavie of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, who presented the findings last week at the annual meeting of the Association of Professional Sleep Societies in Washington, D.C.

The repressed road to trauma recovery