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Collocations for dream - noun

1. while you are asleep

ADJECTIVE

awful, bad, disturbing, horrible, terrible
a child frightened by a bad dream
bizarre, odd, strange, weird
fevered
pleasant
lucid, vivid
erotic, wet
recurrent, recurring
prophetic
He had a prophetic dream about a train crash the night before the disaster.
day (usually daydream), waking
His waking dream was rudely interrupted by the telephone.

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VERB + dream

dream, have
She fell asleep and dreamed strange dreams.
I had a very disturbing dream last night.
awake from, wake from
be awoken from, be woken from
I was awoken from my dream by a knock at the door.
remember
I hardly ever remember my dreams.
interpret
haunt, invade, plague
Images of the crash still haunted his dreams years later.

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dream + VERB

come true
I hope my dream about prison won't come true!
haunt sb, plague sb
vivid dreams that regularly haunted him
She is plagued by strange dreams.
fade, fade away
She opened her eyes and the dream faded.

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dream + NOUN

interpretation

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PREPOSITION

in a/the dream
In her dream, she was on board a ship heading for America.
dream about
a recurrent dream about being late for an exam

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PHRASES

as (if) in a dream
She found herself standing in front of the crowded hall and making her speech, as if in a dream.
sweet dreams
‘Sweet dreams!’ she said, turning off the light.

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2. sth that you want very much to happen

ADJECTIVE

big, great
Her biggest dream was to become a singer.
lifelong, long-held
her lifelong dream of swimming with dolphins
boyhood, childhood
distant
His plans to travel the world now seemed like a distant dream.
crazy, impossible
Peace no longer seemed an impossible dream.
pipe
He spent his life chasing pipe dreams (= fantasies that are unlikely to come true).
unfulfilled, unrealized
broken, shattered
utopian
romantic
She had this romantic dream of living in a windmill.

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VERB + dream

cherish, have
the great utopian dream that they have cherished for so long
achieve, fulfil/fulfill, live, live out, realize
At last his dreams were fulfilled.
By this stage in my life I expected to be living the dream.
chase, follow, pursue
He left his job to pursue his dream of opening a restaurant.
abandon
He never abandoned his dream of finding his real mother.
crush, shatter
The injury shattered her dream of running in the Olympics.
keep alive
The victory keeps San Marino's dream of a World Cup place alive.

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dream + VERB

come true
He put all his efforts into making his dream of a united country come true.
turn into a nightmare, turn sour (esp. BrE)
Their dream turned into a nightmare as the ship began to sink.

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dream + NOUN

holiday (BrE), home, house, job, vacation (AmE)
After Betty retired, she designed and built her dream house.
land (usually dreamland), world
The government is living in a dream world if they think voters will agree to higher taxes.

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PREPOSITION

dream of
their dream of a fairer world

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PHRASES

the American dream
Born a poor boy in Kansas, he lived the American dream as a successful inventor.
the … of sb's dreams
the house of her dreams
the girl of his dreams
beyond sb's wildest dreams
They achieved a success beyond their wildest dreams.
a dream come true
Their cruise in the Bahamas was a dream come true.
hopes and dreams
She confided in him all her hopes and dreams.
live the dream
At last I feel I'm living the dream.

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Collocations for dream - verb

ADVERB

always
As a child she always dreamed of working with animals.
often
He often dreamed of owning a house right on the beach.
never
I never dreamed I'd actually get the job.
still
long
People have long dreamed of an egalitarian society.
just, only
It was the kind of trip most of us can only dream about.

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VERB + dream

wouldn't
I wouldn't dream of going without you (= I would never go without you).

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PREPOSITION

about, of

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Dream is used with these nouns as the object:
dream

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