dream
part of speech
noun (a dream, dreams); verb (dream, dreams, dreamed or dreamt, dreaming)
meaning for a pupil
1) A dream is a set of pictures, thoughts and feelings that happen in your mind while you sleep. tree →
2) A dream is something you wish for very much, like a goal. tree →
3) To dream is to have pictures and stories in your mind while sleeping. tree →
4) To dream of or about something is to imagine it or wish for it. tree →
5) To dream (daydream) is to think about other things instead of paying attention. tree →
6) «A dream» can mean something wonderful. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, dreams happen mostly in a stage of sleep called REM sleep; everyone dreams, though many dreams are forgotten. A bad dream is a nightmare. In everyday life and stories, «my dream is to be a vet» means a hope for the future; Martin Luther King's «I have a dream» speech is famous. In stories, «it was all a dream» is an ending where nothing really happened. Phrases: «have a dream», «bad dream», «dream come true», «dream of», «sweet dreams», «in your dreams», «dream big».
examples
- I had a funny dream about a flying pig. tree →
- Sweet dreams! tree →
- Her dream is to play for the national team. tree →
- I dreamt that I could breathe under water. tree →
- He dreams of visiting Australia. tree →
- Stop dreaming and finish your work. tree →
- Meeting the author was a dream come true. tree →
- I woke up from a bad dream and hugged my teddy. tree →
- Then it was not a dream. tree →
note
Past: «dreamed» or «dreamt» (both correct; dreamt is more British). «Dream about» is used for sleep dreams and wishes; «dream of» more for wishes. Dreams are not real and do not tell the future. A nightmare is a frightening dream.
In the corpora
- When the program is switched off, nothing happens inside it: it does not sleep, rest or dream.
- Scientists still study why we dream; there is no evidence that dream pictures have fixed hidden meanings.
- Picture a boy who dreams of a husky in a small flat while everyone is out all day.
- In people this is the stage when most vivid dreams happen.
- It was all a dream.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «dream» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.