pipe dream

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Absent burning down the house, Nelson told me that’s probably a pipe dream, at least for now.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026

When Koy was moving up the comedy ranks under his real name Joseph Glenn Herbert, the thought of calling himself a comedian felt like a pipe dream.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026

Perfect anonymity online is still a pipe dream, but a good VPN gets you pretty close.

From Salon • Feb. 11, 2026

David Goldwyn, head of Goldwyn Global Strategies and a former Obama administration official, said it may be a pipe dream to expect oil companies to risk large sums on turning around Venezuela.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

Jefferson's version of a classless American society was therefore a pipe dream, because the source of the problem was not European feudalism but human nature itself.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis