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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Recent Examples of pipe dreams
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
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
Noun
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Here’s a story from the 2022 that explains her late development and how dreams come true the hard way.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
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Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The film turns on two grandmothers with opposing visions – Nancy, drawn to what lies outside the forest, and Huanginkamu, committed to defending her ancestral home – as López Rubio reflects on the implications of her own filmmaking presence.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
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Two of the biggest stalwarts—Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company and Wren House Brewing Company—have opened new outposts expanding their visions.—
Chris Malloy,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There’s now no mainstream because there are now fewer illusions, both regarding the public and regarding what goes on behind the scenes; the transparency and the resulting scrutiny that extend to the economics and social life of movies extend to the art of cinema as well.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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Instead, Angine de Poitrine are more like Meshuggah or Dawn of Midi, establishing a meter and then creating rhythmic illusions using creative bursts of syncopation.—
Christopher R. Weingarten,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The president is tweeting about his genocidal fantasies in Iran.—
Anne Bryson,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
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If justice means anything any more, a federal judge will easily swipe through Hegseth’s nebulous legal fantasies, and preserve the possibility that someday, the Endangered Species Act might actually help save endangered species in the Gulf.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The family car is a Mazda, but Zac daydreams of a Bugatti Veyron.—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
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More than masturbatory daydreams, Vladimir inspires our heroine to write with abandon, ignoring professional and personal obligations in service to her muse.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dreams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dreams. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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