the American dream

noun phrase

variants or the American Dream

: a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful

With good jobs, a nice house, two children, and plenty of money, they believed they were living the American dream.

Examples of the American dream in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a lot of talk about the disappearance of the American dream right now. —Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026

The common milestones of the American dream once came in rapid succession. —Jake Angelo, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2026

This is not the American dream. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Apr. 2026

To truly lower prices over the long term, Americans need the freedom to innovate and responsibly harness our abundant resources, a spirit that has always defined the American dream and can go hand in hand with responsible environmental stewardship. —Paige Gilliard, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for the American dream

• abeam
• airstream
• bloodstream
• daydream
• downstream
• esteem
• extreme
• grapheme
• hakim
• hornbeam
• lexeme
• mainstream