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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Recent Examples of pipe dream
Building alternative pipelines to relieve a global chokepoint is no pipe dream.
—
John Spencer, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2026
Years back, a Tentsile tent light enough for unencumbered backpacking or bikepacking seemed little more than a pipe dream.
—New Atlas, 25 Mar. 2026
Moving to Europe may feel like a pipe dream for many.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2026
So that's kind of a pipe dream of mine.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pipe dream
John Spencer, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2026
Years back, a Tentsile tent light enough for unencumbered backpacking or bikepacking seemed little more than a pipe dream.
—New Atlas, 25 Mar. 2026
Moving to Europe may feel like a pipe dream for many.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2026
So that's kind of a pipe dream of mine.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pipe dream
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pipe dream
Noun
-
The dreams that Rice and Jaquez had about bringing an NCAA championship to a program that hadn’t won one required the right pieces, and Betts was the missing ingredient.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Some of her theories apparently came to her in vivid dreams.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Desperate customers were calling multiple brokers at once, creating the illusion of demand spikes that sent truck owners scrambling to raise prices, Biswas said.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The converted car, filled with seats and fast-moving images LED screens, doesn’t go anywhere but gives you the illusion of traveling through agave fields.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The family car is a Mazda, but Zac daydreams of a Bugatti Veyron.—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Inspired by the Coachella headliner herself, the stop is a Sabrina fantasy land, with sparkly vintage cars, slushie concoctions and much more.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The president is tweeting about his genocidal fantasies in Iran.—
Anne Bryson,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Honesty makes big visions real and doable.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
With Iran qualifying for the World Cup, Arad Ershad had visions of splurging on flights and tickets to attend one of the team’s upcoming first-round matches in Los Angeles.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dream.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dream. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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