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
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
-
Along with a series of restaurants and a playground for children, there's even a replica field for fans to live their own big league dreams.—
Zach Boetto,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
In decades past, China’s ascendent middle class flocked to booming megacities to chase jobs and dreams, once abundant as the country went from rags to riches.—
Albee Zhang,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That was when the foundation’s internal troubles began, with competing visions for the future of the Everglades.—
Michael Adno,
Rolling Stone,
3 Mar. 2026
-
While their visions for how to best resist ICE differ, the leading candidates have said the agency can’t continue in its current form.—
Olivia Olander,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Saturn, the planet of boundaries, responsibility, and foundations, and Neptune, the planet of dreams, illusions, and spirituality, haven’t met up since 1989.—
Maressa Brown,
InStyle,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Our illusions are likely to come into contact with reality today.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
His synth work conjures the romantic fantasies of high-rises and all-white lounges that French musicians Jean-Luc Ponty and Wally Badarou once evoked in their ’80s albums.—
Kiana Mickles,
Pitchfork,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Or perhaps you will be filled with private thoughts, fantasies and crushes about someone.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Below, some of the finest, high-quality ruffled bedding around the web for creating the frothy bedscape of your daydreams.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Rather than stressing over social niceties, sitting in ornate carriages and snacking on cream cakes, Sophie daydreams while scrubbing floors and delivering tea.—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dreams.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dreams. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
