Meanings
nounJohn-a-dreams (plural John-a-dreamses)
plural John-a-dreamses
- archaicA man who is a daydreamer and therefore unproductive.
[…] Yet I, / A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak / Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, / and can say nothing.
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], line 503
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APA
John-a-dreams. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/John-a-dreams
MLA
“John-a-dreams.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/John-a-dreams. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “John-a-dreams,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/John-a-dreams.
Source: John-a-dreams on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.