pipe dream

See also: pipedream and pipe-dream

English

WOTD – 21 January 2025

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪp driːm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪp ˌdrim/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

pipe dream (plural pipe dreams)

1. (idiomatic, originally US) A desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work; a near impossibility. [from late 19th c.]

   Synonyms: castle in the air, pie in the sky

   Coordinate term: figment of one's imagination

   I think that his plan to become a professional athlete is a pipe dream and that he should stay in school.

   • 1962 December, “Dr. Beeching Previews the Plan for British Railways”, in Modern Railways, Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 376:

     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.

Alternative forms

• pipedream

Derived terms

• pipe-dream (verb)
• pipedreamed (adjective)
• pipe-dreamer (modelled after pipe dream)
• pipe dreaming (noun)

Translations

desire or idea which is unlikely to materialize, or a plan which is unlikely to work

• Afrikaans: lugkasteel (literally “castle in the air”), wensdroom (literally “wishful dream”)
• Armenian: անիրականալի երազանք (anirakanali erazankʻ), ցնորք (hy) (cʻnorkʻ)
• Bashkir: буш (buş) хыял (xıyal)
• Bulgarian: празна надежда f (prazna nadežda), въздушна мечта (vǎzdušna mečta)
• Catalan: entelèquia (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 妄想 (zh) (wàngxiǎng)

• Czech: vzdušné zámky m pl (literally “castles in the air”)
• Danish: luftkastel n (literally “castle in the air”), ønskedrøm c
• Dutch: luchtkasteel (nl) n (literally “castle in the air”), wensdroom (nl) m
• Esperanto: aerkastelo, ĥimero
• Finnish: pilvilinna (fi)
• French: chimère (fr) f, rêve chimérique m
• German: Luftschloss (de) n (literally “castle in the air”), Schnapsidee (de) n (literally “booze idea”), Wunschtraum (de) m
• Greek: ονειροφαντασία (el) f (oneirofantasía), ὀνειροπόληση f (oneiropólēsē)
• Hebrew: חלומות באספמיה (he) m pl (ḥalomót be aspámya, literally “dreaming of Spain”) (formal), מִגְדָּל פּוֹרֵחַ בָּאֲוִיר (he) m (migdál poréaḥ baavír, literally “tower flying in the air”) (formal)
• Hungarian: ábránd (hu), légvár (hu), vágyálom (hu)
• Japanese: 夢物語 (ゆめものがたり, yumemonogatari)
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: waitara
• Norwegian: luftslott (no) n (literally “castle in the air”), ønskedrøm m
• Polish: marzenie ściętej głowy (pl) n, miraż (pl) m, mrzonka (pl) f
• Portuguese: quimera (pt) f
• Russian: несбы́точная мечта́ f (nesbýtočnaja mečtá, literally “unrealizable dream”), возду́шные за́мки m pl (vozdúšnyje zámki, literally “castles in the air”)
• Spanish: castillo en el aire m, entelequia (es) f, quimera (es) f, sueño guajiro (es)
• Swedish: luftslott (sv) n (literally “castle in the air”), önskedröm (sv)
• Turkish: boş hayal (tr), hülya (tr)
• Welsh: breuddwyd gwrach (cy) m

Further reading

• pipe dream (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia