daydream

daydream — noun

1. A pleasant imagined scene or series of thoughts that fills your mind while you a

1.nounB1
Definition

A pleasant imagined scene or series of thoughts that fills your mind while you are awake, usually about something you wish were part of your real life — for example, imagining yourself living in a different city or achieving a big goal.

Example

Gabriela's daydream about living by the sea helped her get through long days at work.

possessive daydream + about [gerund phrase]

The student's daydream was interrupted when the teacher called her name.

Common collocations
  • pleasant daydream
  • brief daydream
  • vivid daydream
  • lost in a daydream
  • snap out of a daydream
  • interrupt a daydream
Synonyms
  • fantasy

    more elaborate and often longer than a daydream; may be deliberately constructed

  • reverie

    more literary and gentle; suggests a pleasant, relaxed state of being lost in thought

  • pipe dream

    an unrealistic or unlikely ambition, not just any pleasant thought

Antonyms
  • reality

    the world of actual facts and events, as opposed to imagined ones

Grammar Patterns

have a daydream

lost in a daydream

possessive + daydream + about/of

Usage Note

Often used with the verb 'have' (have a daydream) or in the fixed phrase 'lost in a daydream,' which describes being deeply absorbed in the fantasy.

Common Mistakes

I had a daydream last night while I was asleep.
I had a dream last night while I was asleep.
Daydreams occur only when you are awake; a dream happens during sleep.

daydream — verb

Word family

  • daydreamer
    nounB2
  • daydreaming
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All three words involve forming mental pictures, but they differ in intensity and context. 'Fantasize' suggests a more deliberate, detailed, and often more unrealistic scenario — you actively build a fantasy (e.g., fantasizing about winning the lottery). 'Daydream' is more passive and spontaneous: your mind simply wanders to pleasant thoughts, often without conscious effort. 'Dream' (as in 'dream of becoming a doctor') is more about a long-term hope or ambition, and unlike daydreaming, it does not imply you have lost touch with your surroundings. 'Imagine' is the broadest of the four — it covers both deliberate mental creation (imagine a world without plastic) and casual daydreaming. Use 'daydream' when the key idea is that your attention has drifted from reality to something personally enjoyable.

fantasizedream ↗imagine ↗

Common collocations

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The word 'daydream' is a compound of 'day' (from Old English 'dæg', meaning the period of sunlight) and 'dream' (from Old English 'drēam', originally meaning joy or music, later shifting to mean a sequence of thoughts during sleep). It was first recorded in English around the 1680s, often written with a hyphen (day-dream), to describe thoughts or fantasies that occur while a person is awake — in contrast to the dreams that happen during sleep.