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

Like a disillusioned dreamer in a loss-of-innocence novel, Zuck has apparently soured on Washington, believing that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are anti-technology. —Byandrew Nusca, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2024

Thursday, December 19: Trading Up Christmas Stars: Italia Ricci (Chasing Life), Michael Xavier (Wild Cards) Michelle (Ricci) is the dreamer of her family, always brimming with imaginative ideas to make the world a better place. —Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2024

That’s science, not fiction, and a world away from the heady optimism of the Cold War dreamers who once envisioned a future embedded in ice. —Paul Bierman, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Sep. 2024

New York Fashion Week’s fifth day brought the fashion industry’s dreamers to the forefront, offering a preview of spring and summer 2025 trends. —Stixx Matthews, Essence, 11 Sep. 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