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
During his time at Colgate, the team earned two NCAA tournament trips via back-to-back Patriot League titles, but the Final Four seemed like a pipe dream to someone at a low major.
—
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
But their coffee shop, once a pipe dream, will soon become a reality.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2026
In other words, sustainability isn’t just a pipe dream here.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 30 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
See All Example Sentences for pipe dream
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
But their coffee shop, once a pipe dream, will soon become a reality.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2026
In other words, sustainability isn’t just a pipe dream here.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 30 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
See All Example Sentences for pipe dream
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pipe dream
Noun
-
The coffee shop seemed so long ago now, so far away, as if something out of a dream.—
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Derek Muller, an election law expert, suggests that scenario is little more than a fever dream of doomsday devotees and overly nervous Nellies.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But the illusion shatters when a stranger on the street recognizes the dog… as HER boyfriend Danny’s dog.—
William Earl,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
-
This week, even Penny’s exceptionalism is revealed to be an illusion.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Just think of all those vacant Madonnas, structurally perfect compositions, and obedient daydreams of antiquity.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The family car is a Mazda, but Zac daydreams of a Bugatti Veyron.—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Lush, dark wood shelving and the rolling library ladder of every bookish person's dreams complete the fantasy.—
Nathanael Gassett,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
30 Apr. 2026
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Yet this is precisely the idea that the Enhanced Games is peddling—the fantasy that what Proud or Collins takes to break a world record, at a different dose, might make a man in his 70s more mobile, energized, and maybe even hotter.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Arve Henriksen’s trumpet is a celestial contrast to the vocals’ groundedness, a floater at the edge of the song’s smoky peripheral vision.—
Linnie Greene,
Pitchfork,
29 Apr. 2026
-
What do any of these throwaway lines actually illustrate about Homelander’s project of using the entertainment industry to sell his traditionalist vision of America?—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pipe dream.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pipe%20dream. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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