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

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 dreams 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
  • Apart from the condition in the bottles, the liquid in them is the stuff of collectors’ wildest dreams.
    — Tony Sachs, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • With her big dreams and determination, Shyniyah hopes to one day become the President of the United States.
    — The Star, Kansas City Star, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of dreams
Noun
  • Her final film Sleepwalker, a psychological thriller about a mother who has fightening visions after losing her daughter in a car accident, was released in January.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Education is expected to be a central issue in those races, with candidates offering competing visions for improving student outcomes and strengthening public schools.
    — Jason Burns, The Conversation, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of visions
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
  • But Zinn’s illusions in the war, challenged already by lefties in the ranks and by seeing his friends killed, were permanently put to rest due to the bombing of Royan.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of illusions
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
  • From Churchill onward, many British leaders clung to fantasies of global power and splendid isolation from Europe, fantasies that culminated in the disaster of Brexit.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of fantasies
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 daydreams

Browse Nearby Words

pipe dream
pipe dreams
piped up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of balmy

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All