pipe-dream

[ pahyp-dreem ]
/ ˈpaɪpˌdrim /

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

to indulge in pipe dreams; fantasize.

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

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

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.