pipe-dream

[ pahyp-dreem ]
/ ˈpaɪpˌdrim /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR pipe-dream ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), pipe-dreamed or pipe-dreamt, pipe-dream·ing.

to indulge in pipe dreams; fantasize.

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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. 2020

Words related to pipe-dream

daydream, guess, read, hypothesize, wonder, reflect, contemplate, weigh, ruminate, surmise, conjecture, cerebrate, consider, figure, deliberate, study, dope, muse, excogitate, brainstorm

Example sentences 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.