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

All of this comes to help others and help strengthen this country and help close a lot of the gaps and disrupt many of the barriers and really move forward to help everyone benefit from the American dream, which so many don't at this point. —Marianne Schnall, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

Likewise, Schwartz pointed out that with the housing market becoming completely inaccessible to many, the American dream consists of renting. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2024

The set is half nightclub, half car crash, just like the Roaring Twenties; all the characters’ costumes have dirty hems, as though to semaphore that none of them have quite risen above the muck of the American dream. —Lauren Groff, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2024

Owning a home has long been a part of the American dream, and for those looking to buy, especially first-timers, the state’s largest city offered access. —Mike Gousha and John D. Johnson, Journal Sentinel, 9 Oct. 2024