pipe-dream

pipe-dream — noun

1. an unrealistic hope, plan, promise, or story that sounds attractive — winning th

1.名詞C1
釋義

an unrealistic hope, plan, promise, or story that sounds attractive — winning the lottery, retiring to a private island, or guaranteed riches from a tiny investment — but stands almost no chance of coming true.

例句

Marcus knows that opening a bakery in Paris is just a pipe dream on his current salary.

[something] is just a pipe dream

Lina once shared her pipe dream of sailing alone around the world before turning thirty.

a pipe dream of [doing something]

同義詞
  • fantasy

    any imagined scene; less focused on a plan that has been ruled out

  • daydream

    a passing pleasant thought; not as final or as clearly impossible

  • fool's errand

    stresses the wasted effort of trying, not the hope itself

  • castle in the air

    more literary; same idea of a plan with no real foundation

  • tall tale

    covers the 'sold to others' frame: an exaggerated story told for effect

反義詞

文法句型

a pipe dream

[something] is (just / only) a pipe dream

a pipe dream of [doing something]

sell / spin / peddle someone a pipe dream

用法筆記

Often paired with 'just', 'only', 'merely', or 'nothing but' to stress that the hope will not happen. Frequently appears as the noun complement after 'is' or 'remains'. When the hope is being pushed onto a listener by someone else (a salesperson, politician, or schemer), the verbs 'sell', 'spin', and 'peddle' are common — same lexical sense, just a register shift toward criticism of the speaker.

常見錯誤

❌I pipe-dreamed about that house for years.
✅Owning that house was a pipe dream of mine for years.
💡pipe dream is a noun, not a verb.
❌The salesman told us a pipe dream story.
✅The salesman sold us a pipe dream.
💡pipe dream stands as the noun itself, not as a modifier before another noun.