Meanings
nounpipe dream (plural pipe dreams)
plural pipe dreams · alternative pipedream
- idiomaticA desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work; a near impossibility.First known use late 19th c.
I think that his plan to become a professional athlete is a pipe dream and that he should stay in school.
1 more example
Only a year ago it would have needed a "super-Micawber" to be optimistic that the railways would once again pay their way. But it was no longer a pipe dream that B.R. could make a profit, the way to do it was now clear.
1962 December, “Dr. Beeching Previews the Plan for British Railways”, in Modern Railways, Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 376Synonyms: castle in the air, pie in the sky
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work; a near impossibility.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna fantastic but vain hope (from fantasies induced by the opium pipe)
Similar
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From pipe + dream, referring to the fantasies experienced when smoking an opium pipe. Compare Old English pīpdrēam (“the sound or music of a pipe”), which is formed identically but has a different meaning.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans lugkasteel, wensdroom
- lugkasteeldesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- wensdroomdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Bulgarian празна надежда, въздушна мечта
- празна надежда (prazna nadežda)desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- въздушна мечта (văzdušna mečta)desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Catalan entelèquia
- entelèquiadesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Chinese Mandarin 妄想, 春秋大夢 /春秋大梦
- 妄想 (wàngxiǎng)desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- 春秋大夢 /春秋大梦 (chūnqiūdàmèng)desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Czech vzdušné zámky
- vzdušné zámkydesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Danish luftkastel, ønskedrøm
- luftkasteldesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- ønskedrømdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Dutch luchtkasteel, wensdroom
- luchtkasteeldesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- wensdroomdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Esperanto aerkastelo, ĥimero
- aerkastelodesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- ĥimerodesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Finnish pilvilinna
- pilvilinnadesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
French chimère, rêve chimérique
- chimèredesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- rêve chimériquedesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
German Luftschloss, Schnapsidee
- Luftschlossdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- Schnapsideedesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- Wunschtraumdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Greek ονειροφαντασία, ὀνειροπόληση
- ονειροφαντασία (oneirofantasía)desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- ὀνειροπόληση (oneiropólisi)desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Hungarian ábránd, légvár
- ábránddesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- légvárdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- vágyálomdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Japanese 夢物語, 絵空事
- 夢物語 (yumemonogatari)desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- 絵空事 (esoragoto)desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Māori waitara
- waitaradesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Norwegian luftslott, ønskedrøm
- luftslottdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- ønskedrømdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Polish marzenie ściętej głowy, miraż
- marzenie ściętej głowydesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- mirażdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- mrzonkadesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Portuguese quimera
- quimeradesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Spanish castillo en el aire, entelequia
- castillo en el airedesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- entelequiadesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- quimeradesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- sueño guajirodesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- ensueño imposibledesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Swedish luftslott, önskedröm
- luftslottdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- önskedrömdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Turkish boş hayal, hülya
- boş hayaldesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
- hülyadesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Welsh breuddwyd gwrach
- breuddwyd gwrachdesire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work
Cite this entry
APA
pipe dream. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pipe%20dream
MLA
“pipe dream.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pipe%20dream. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pipe dream,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pipe%20dream.
Source: pipe dream on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.