Synonyms

castles in the air

Cultural

Extravagant hopes and plans that will never be carried out: “I told him he should stop building castles in the air and train for a sensible profession.”

castles in the air Idioms

Also, castles in Spain. Dreams about future success, as in Musing about the bestseller list, she was apt to build castles in the air. The first term dates from the late 1500s. The variant, castles in Spain (or chateaux en Espagne), was recorded in the Roman de la Rose in the 13th century and translated into English about 1365.

Example Sentences

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castles in the air

Briceño: Something that I always valued about Cookman was that he never sold us any castles in the air.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025

They're giddy at having two women pledge to make their sundry castles in the air become real.

From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2021

“You can be building castles in the air that have no reference to reality,” Mr. Kesler added.

From New York Times ● Aug. 5, 2017

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2017

“Wouldn’t it be fun if all the castles in the air which we make could come true, and we could live in them?” said Jo, after a little pause.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

castles in the air

Example Sentences

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