as in dream
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
opening our own restaurant has long been a pipe dream
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 dream
The only probable means of gumming up the works is if the AI pursuits fizzle out and people become disillusioned that AGI was merely a pipe dream.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
This was before the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, when hockey was a niche sport in China and the NHL a mere pipe dream.
—John Wawrow, Chicago Tribune, 24 June 2025
The uncertainty alone is enough to make people postpone major expenses, but the actual impact on travel costs is making international trips feel like pipe dreams.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 17 June 2025
This might seem like a pipe dream, but there are precedents for such leadership.
—Robert Hormats, Time, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pipe dream
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
This was before the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, when hockey was a niche sport in China and the NHL a mere pipe dream.
—John Wawrow, Chicago Tribune, 24 June 2025
The uncertainty alone is enough to make people postpone major expenses, but the actual impact on travel costs is making international trips feel like pipe dreams.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 17 June 2025
This might seem like a pipe dream, but there are precedents for such leadership.
—Robert Hormats, Time, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pipe dream
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pipe dream
Noun
-
Running the largest sports media company in the world is a dream job for Pitaro, a lifelong Yankees fan who named one of his dogs Jeter (as in Derek).—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
13 Aug. 2025
-
An original work set in the world of 1950s ping pong culture, the film tells the story of Marty Mauser (Chalamet), a young man with a dream no one respects, who goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Like the film that inspired it, the book circles intimacy, illusion, blondes and brunettes, the psychic architecture of Los Angeles.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Aug. 2025
-
Choose temporary discomfort over living in illusion.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Your recurring daydream of spending unending hours splayed out on the beach should take place right here, on the beaches of Isla Verde, located on the edge of San Juan.—
Carley Rojas Avila,
Travel + Leisure,
26 July 2025
-
After stealing a security guard’s gun (and his wife’s Lorazepam), the mentally unwell husband and father contemplates some violent solutions to his problem during a couple of vivid daydream sequences.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
There are people dressed as recognizable characters from comic books, fantasy movies and TV shows and video games.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
16 Aug. 2025
-
Of course, Jon Snow is actually a Targaryen and ends up in a romantic relationship with his aunt, Daenerys Targaryen, in the final seasons of HBO’s hit fantasy drama.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The underlying fundamental challenges created by the countries’ deep divisions over their economic ties, the potential for conflict over Taiwan and other hotspots, and their competing visions of the international order can only be papered over for so long.—
Scott Kennedy,
Time,
16 Aug. 2025
-
But the film’s precise, funny characters and vivid, sweltering look would have meant nothing without Lee’s wise and ultimately sad vision of multicultural America as a place where good intentions and casual mistrust are as commonplace as the local pizzeria.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
16 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dream.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dream. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share