pipe dreams

noun

plural of pipe dream
as in dreams
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality opening our own restaurant has long been a pipe dream

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pipe dreams As the league and union continue amassing their respective war chests for the next CBA four-to-five years down the road, the last thing the league needs to do publicly is depict pipe dreams as front-burner issues. — Jonathan Jones, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 Arendt then cited Wilhelm Marr’s Sieg des Judentums über das Germanentum (The Victory of Judaism over Teutonism, 1869), thus lining up all the antisemitic pipe dreams that came close to fulfillment. — Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026 The Information posited, while noting that since 2020, Meta’s Reality Lab division has lost $87 billion chasing metaverse pipe dreams. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 10 July 2026 Music promoters, both craving the one-upmanship and genuine satisfaction of getting a lucrative band back on a stage, have more money at their disposal than ever before to make their pipe dreams a reality. — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025 The stalker pipe dreams need to stop here. — Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025 The idea that renewables alone can power the American economy is nonsense given the current technology, green pipe dreams notwithstanding. — Editorial, Boston Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pipe dreams
  1. dreams
  2. visions
  3. illusions
  4. fantasies
  5. daydreams
Noun
  • The heated pool at the Sebastian is the stuff of ski town dreams, with a waterfall, stone galore, multiple hot tubs, and servers who bring snacks and cocktails.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • In turn, Kerr also etched himself into the hearts of Braves fans through his story of working at a convenience store and movie theatre before chasing his baseball dreams one last time.
    — Jesús Cano, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of dreams
Noun
  • Choice ideas Donalds and Jolly have different visions for steering the state’s system of education.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The Brazilian presidential election, which kicks off with a first round of voting on October 4, gives citizens a choice between radically different visions of politics.
    — MATIAS SPEKTOR, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of visions
Noun
  • The Hering and Wundt illusions are examples of how straight lines can appear curved if intersecting lines cross them at a certain angle.
    — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026
  • In each case, however, modern physics has shown these assumptions to be illusions.
    — Adam Frank, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of illusions
Noun
  • His search gradually shifts from extraterrestrial fantasies toward the invisible outsiders living among us on Earth.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
  • This season, which focuses on tracking down Hamas operatives to stop another catastrophic attack on Israel, speaks directly to a post-October 7 Israeli psyche that is consumed by revenge fantasies.
    — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of fantasies
Noun
  • Walking through prewar Berlin, taking in its historic architecture, Susanna daydreams of her native New York, an ever-changing city where buildings are torn down and rebuilt in the blink of an eye.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
  • And amidst the momentum of reverie, there’s the line ‘Blink at the light and hope to survive,’ because daydreams in a fascist state can be scary too.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 June 2026
Definition of daydreams

Browse Nearby Words

pipe dream
pipe dreams
piped up
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Cite this Entry

“Pipe dreams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dreams. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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