dreamt

A child dreamt of flying over a rainbow.

Definition

1. Verb (past tense and past participle of ):
   • To have experienced a series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep: This is the most common meaning — "dreamt" refers to the act of having a dream while asleep.
   • To have imagined or wished for something: It can also mean to have thought about something as a possibility or desire, often unrealistically.

Usage Examples

• As past tense of dream (sleeping):

  • I dreamt of flying through the clouds last night. (I had a dream about flying.)
  • She dreamt that she was lost in a forest. (She experienced a dream about being lost.)

• As past tense of dream (wishing or imagining):

  • He dreamt of becoming a famous musician when he was young. (He wished or imagined becoming a musician.)
  • They never dreamt that they would win the lottery. (They did not imagine or expect to win.)

Advanced Usage

• "dreamt up": to have invented or conceived something, especially something fanciful or unrealistic.

  • The engineer dreamt up a clever solution to the problem. (He invented a creative idea.)
  • She dreamt up an elaborate excuse for being late. (She fabricated a story.)

• "would not have dreamt of": used to express that someone would never consider doing something.

  • I would not have dreamt of asking for help. (I would never have considered it.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dream (noun): a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep.

  • I had a strange dream last night. (A sleeping experience.)

• Dreamer (noun): a person who dreams or has ambitions.

  • She is a dreamer who always thinks about the future. (Someone who imagines possibilities.)

• Dreamlike (adj): resembling a dream; surreal or unreal.

  • The landscape had a dreamlike quality. (It felt like a dream.)

Synonyms

• Imagined: formed a mental image of something not present.
• Fantacized: indulged in fantasies.
• Conceived: thought of or devised an idea.

Related Idioms

• Dreamt of something: to have considered something as a hope or ambition.

  • She dreamt of travelling the world. (She hoped to travel.)

• Never dreamt of: to have not imagined something possible.

  • I never dreamt of meeting my hero. (I did not imagine it would happen.)