dreamer
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a person who has dreams during sleep.
an individual who experiences a series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
Simple“She is a heavy dreamer and often wakes up remembering every detail of her adventures.”
In context“Research suggests that even those who claim never to remember their sleep cycles are active dreamers during the REM stage.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
someone who has big ideas or hopes for the future that other people think are not realistic.
a person who lives in a world of fancy or imagination; an idealist whose goals are often perceived as impractical.
Simple“He was always a dreamer, imagining he would one day travel to Mars.”
In context“While critics dismissed him as a mere dreamer, his ambitious architectural plans eventually transformed the city skyline.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
a term for a young person who was brought to the United States as a child without legal papers.
an undocumented immigrant in the United States who entered the country as a minor and meets the criteria of the DREAM Act.
Simple“Many Dreamers have lived in the U.S. since they were toddlers and consider it their only home.”
In context“The legislative debate focused on providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers who had successfully completed university degrees or military service.”
UsageOften capitalized as 'Dreamer' in this specific political and legal context.
From Middle English dremer, dremere, dremare, equivalent to dream + -er. Cognate with West Frisian dreamer (“dreamer”), Saterland Frisian Dröömer (“dreamer”), Dutch dromer (“dreamer”), German Träumer (“dreamer”), Danish drømmer (“dreamer”), Swedish drömmare (“dreamer”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.