pipe dream

noun

Definition of pipe dreamnext
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

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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 dream That number was still a pipe dream weeks later when, as the story goes, Mary Kay borrowed twelve dollars to hightail it to Dallas for a Stanley sales rally. — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 15 July 2026 United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain's pitch for a four-day workweek for assembly workers was brushed aside as a pipe dream. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 13 July 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 But instant 100% tariffs look like a pipe dream given the constraints of the trade law. — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for pipe dream
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pipe dream
  1. dream
  2. illusion
  3. daydream
  4. fantasy
  5. vision
Noun
  • There had been little doubt Cristobal left a great situation at Oregon, but his dream job, the top rung for him, was always in Coral Gables.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
  • But Jack and Chris, finally, must have been a dream come true.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of dream
Noun
  • Published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, 95 people—Millennial and Gen Z men and women, all of whom had a history of using Instagram for an average of eight years—underwent a virtual reality experience called body illusions.
    — Nicole Karlis, Allure, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The irony, of course, is that this very haphazardness is orchestrated by Dante, who is putting all the references together with intention — the intention of creating the illusion of no intention, of chaos.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of illusion
Noun
  • 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
  • One-touch passing, feinting and ripping hard shots into a tattered net, each is super-charged by vivid daydreams of glory on the international stage.
    — Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 22 June 2026
Definition of daydream
Noun
  • This is the same thing, only moms are living their I-wish-when-I-was-in-college fantasies through their daughters.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Rum has always been good at fantasy, conjuring sunshine in a bad bar, smuggling a little heat in the cold, and making the most sensible drinker briefly vulnerable to the pull of a paper umbrella.
    — Lela London, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of fantasy
Noun
  • Hämeenaho has the shot, vision and hands to project to score in the NHL.
    — Corey Pronman, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Bansal, who refused to comment when contacted, has outlined his vision for Lenskart in the company’s latest quarterly presentation.
    — Anu Raghunathan, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of vision

Browse Nearby Words

pipe down
pipe dream
pipe dreams
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pipe dream.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dream. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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