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

But then a dreamer named Geoffrey suddenly enters the picture, and wanders around a concrete island conjuring up a story about a girl and some butterflies. —Lauren Wissot, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2024

At the center of the saga is Chicken Man, a desperate dreamer who sees a life-changing opportunity with the hoopla surrounding Ali’s bout with Jerry Quarry. —Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024

On the night of March 9, the 22-year-old country music dreamer phoned his friend Kevin Hughes, who worked as the chart director at Cash Box magazine. —Keith Sharon, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2024

How excellent, though, when big dreamers land every stepping stone along the way. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2024

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