dreamer

1 of 2

noun (1)

dream·​er ˈdrē-mər 

1

: one that dreams

2

a

: one who lives in a world of fancy and imagination

b

: one who has ideas or conceives projects regarded as impractical : visionary

Dreamer

2 of 2

noun (2)

Dream·​er ˈdrē-mər 

variants or less commonly dreamer or DREAMer

plural Dreamers also dreamers or DREAMers

: a person living in the United States without legal status who arrived as the child of someone who did not have the documentation required for legal entry or residence

In U.S. medical schools, there are currently 99 Dreamers enrolled, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

—Todd Ackerman

The program—Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—protects about 700,000 people, known as dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families that overstayed visas.

—Mark Sherman

Bipartisan support exists for some form of legal protection for DREAMers, but fights over who should be protected, to what level and what should be included in the overall deal has forced Congress to a standstill.

—Eliza Collins

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• Don Quixote
• fantast
• idealist
• idealizer
• ideologue
• idealogue
• romantic
• romanticist
• utopian
• visionary

Examples of dreamer in a Sentence

Noun (1)

I am a realist, but my sister is a dreamer.

Some dreamers talk in their sleep to the people in their dreams.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As the dreamer is chased, attacked, injured or dragged away, Paul is always just there, either passing through or watching unhelpfully from the sidelines. —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023

New technology comes from dreamers, but their sheep need to be flesh and blood. —WIRED, 3 Nov. 2023

Once a dreamer awakens, their long-term memory regions come back on line. —Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Oct. 2023

Her father was a businessman and a dreamer who created hundreds of inventions and founded X-Acto, known for its famous knives, with his brother-in-law. —Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023

The real fun, however — and there is much of it — lies in simply watching Gad and Rannells run riot, riff with each other, play with the audience, and just have a grand old time once again playing sweet, deluded dreamers. —Frank Rizzo, Variety, 12 Oct. 2023

Most of the time, someone having a nightmare will be indistinguishable from a peaceful dreamer. —Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Oct. 2023

Compared to children and adolescents, adults tend to report dreams that feature less physical aggression — and fewer situations in which the dreamer is a victim. —Alex Orlando, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2023

Similarly, relying on anecdotal reports from dreamers after the fact raises the possibility that their recollection of the experience — what’s known as dream recall — can become muddled, too. —Alex Orlando, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate as S.1291 in 2001 but not passed) + -er entry 2, with play on dreamer

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

2004, in the meaning defined above