pipe-dream
[ pahyp-dreem ]
/ ˈpaɪpˌdrim /
verb (used without object), pipe-dreamed or pipe-dreamt, pipe-dream·ing.
to indulge in pipe dreams; fantasize.
Words nearby pipe-dream
pipe snake, pipe up, pipe vine, pipe wrench, pipe-clay, pipe-dream, pipe-layer, pipe-rack, pipeclay, piped music, pipefish
Definition for pipe-dream (2 of 2)
pipe dream
noun
any fantastic notion, hope, or story: Her plans for a movie career are just a pipe dream.
Origin of pipe dream
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for pipe-dream
British Dictionary definitions for pipe-dream
pipe dream
noun
a fanciful or impossible plan or hope
Word Origin for pipe dream
alluding to dreams produced by smoking an opium pipe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with pipe-dream
pipe dream
A fantastic notion or vain hope, as in I'd love to have one home in the mountains and another at the seashore, but that's just a pipe dream. Alluding to the fantasies induced by smoking an opium pipe, this term has been used more loosely since the late 1800s.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.