See pipe dream in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for pipe dream meaning in English (8.4kB)
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "pipe",
"3": "dream"
},
"expansion": "pipe + dream",
"name": "com"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "pīpdrēam",
"t": "the sound or music of a pipe"
},
"expansion": "Old English pīpdrēam (“the sound or music of a pipe”)",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From the fantasies experienced when smoking an opium pipe, equivalent to pipe + dream. First attested in the 1800s; compare Old English pīpdrēam (“the sound or music of a pipe”), which is an identical yet separate and unconnected formation.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "pipe dreams",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "pipe dream (plural pipe dreams)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Armenian terms with redundant script codes",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant script codes",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant script codes",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant transliterations",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "I think that his plan to become a professional athlete is a pipe dream and that he should stay in school.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1962 December, “Dr. Beeching previews the plan for British Railways”, in Modern Railways, page 376",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A plan, desire, or idea that will not likely work; a near impossibility."
],
"id": "en-pipe_dream-en-noun-lMah8TTl",
"links": [
[
"plan",
"plan"
],
[
"desire",
"desire"
],
[
"idea",
"idea"
],
[
"work",
"work"
],
[
"impossibility",
"impossibility"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) A plan, desire, or idea that will not likely work; a near impossibility."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "castle in the air"
},
{
"word": "pie in the sky"
},
{
"word": "pipedream"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "af",
"english": "air castle",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "lugkasteel"
},
{
"code": "af",
"english": "wishful dream",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "wensdroom"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "anirakanali erazankʻ",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "անիրականալի երազանք"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "cʻnorkʻ",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "ցնորք"
},
{
"code": "ba",
"lang": "Bashkir",
"roman": "buş",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "буш хыял"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "prazna nadežda",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "празна надежда"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "vǎzdušna mečta",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "въздушна мечта"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "entelèquia"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wàngxiǎng",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "妄想"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"english": "air castles",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine",
"plural"
],
"word": "vzdušné zámky"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "ønskedrøm"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "luftkastel"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"english": "air castle",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "luchtkasteel"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "wensdroom"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "aerkastelo"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "ĥimero"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "pilvilinna"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "rêve chimérique"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "chimère"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "air castle",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Luftschloss"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "booze idea",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Schnapsidee"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Wunschtraum"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "oneiropólēsē",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "ὀνειροπόληση"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "oneirofantasía",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "ονειροφαντασία"
},
{
"code": "he",
"english": "dreaming of Spain",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "ḥalomót be aspámya",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"formal",
"masculine",
"plural"
],
"word": "חלומות באספמיה"
},
{
"code": "he",
"english": "tower flying in air",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "migdál poréaḥ baavír",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"formal",
"masculine"
],
"word": "מִגְדָּל פּוֹרֵחַ בָּאֲוִיר"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "légvár"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "vágyálom"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "ábránd"
},
{
"alt": "ゆめものがたり",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "yumemonogatari",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "夢物語"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "waitara"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "luftslott"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ønskedrøm"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "mrzonka"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "miraż"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "marzenie ściętej głowy"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "quimera"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "unrealizable dream",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "nesbýtočnaja mečtá",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "несбы́точная мечта́"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "air castles",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "vozdúšnyje zámki",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine",
"plural"
],
"word": "возду́шные за́мки"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "quimera"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "entelequia"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "castillo en el aire"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "sueño guajiro"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "luftslott"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "önskedröm"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "boş hayal"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "hülya"
},
{
"code": "cy",
"lang": "Welsh",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "breuddwyd gwrach"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-pipe dream.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/91/En-au-pipe_dream.ogg/En-au-pipe_dream.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/En-au-pipe_dream.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "pipe dream"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "pipe",
"3": "dream"
},
"expansion": "pipe + dream",
"name": "com"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "pīpdrēam",
"t": "the sound or music of a pipe"
},
"expansion": "Old English pīpdrēam (“the sound or music of a pipe”)",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From the fantasies experienced when smoking an opium pipe, equivalent to pipe + dream. First attested in the 1800s; compare Old English pīpdrēam (“the sound or music of a pipe”), which is an identical yet separate and unconnected formation.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "pipe dreams",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "pipe dream (plural pipe dreams)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"Armenian terms with redundant script codes",
"English compound terms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples",
"Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "I think that his plan to become a professional athlete is a pipe dream and that he should stay in school.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1962 December, “Dr. Beeching previews the plan for British Railways”, in Modern Railways, page 376",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A plan, desire, or idea that will not likely work; a near impossibility."
],
"links": [
[
"plan",
"plan"
],
[
"desire",
"desire"
],
[
"idea",
"idea"
],
[
"work",
"work"
],
[
"impossibility",
"impossibility"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) A plan, desire, or idea that will not likely work; a near impossibility."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "castle in the air"
},
{
"word": "pie in the sky"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-pipe dream.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/91/En-au-pipe_dream.ogg/En-au-pipe_dream.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/En-au-pipe_dream.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "pipedream"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "af",
"english": "air castle",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "lugkasteel"
},
{
"code": "af",
"english": "wishful dream",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "wensdroom"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "anirakanali erazankʻ",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "անիրականալի երազանք"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "cʻnorkʻ",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "ցնորք"
},
{
"code": "ba",
"lang": "Bashkir",
"roman": "buş",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "буш хыял"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "prazna nadežda",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "празна надежда"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "vǎzdušna mečta",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "въздушна мечта"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "entelèquia"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wàngxiǎng",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "妄想"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"english": "air castles",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine",
"plural"
],
"word": "vzdušné zámky"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "ønskedrøm"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "luftkastel"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"english": "air castle",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "luchtkasteel"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "wensdroom"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "aerkastelo"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "ĥimero"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "pilvilinna"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "rêve chimérique"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "chimère"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "air castle",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Luftschloss"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "booze idea",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Schnapsidee"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Wunschtraum"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "oneiropólēsē",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "ὀνειροπόληση"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "oneirofantasía",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "ονειροφαντασία"
},
{
"code": "he",
"english": "dreaming of Spain",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "ḥalomót be aspámya",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"formal",
"masculine",
"plural"
],
"word": "חלומות באספמיה"
},
{
"code": "he",
"english": "tower flying in air",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "migdál poréaḥ baavír",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"formal",
"masculine"
],
"word": "מִגְדָּל פּוֹרֵחַ בָּאֲוִיר"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "légvár"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "vágyálom"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "ábránd"
},
{
"alt": "ゆめものがたり",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "yumemonogatari",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "夢物語"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "waitara"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "luftslott"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ønskedrøm"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "mrzonka"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "miraż"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "marzenie ściętej głowy"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "quimera"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "unrealizable dream",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "nesbýtočnaja mečtá",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "несбы́точная мечта́"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "air castles",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "vozdúšnyje zámki",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine",
"plural"
],
"word": "возду́шные за́мки"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "quimera"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "entelequia"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "castillo en el aire"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "sueño guajiro"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "luftslott"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "önskedröm"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "boş hayal"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"word": "hülya"
},
{
"code": "cy",
"lang": "Welsh",
"sense": "near impossibility",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "breuddwyd gwrach"
}
],
"word": "pipe dream"
}
{
"called_from": "form_descriptions/2013",
"msg": "more than one value in \"roman\": xıyal vs. buş",
"path": [
"pipe dream"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "noun",
"title": "pipe dream",
"trace": ""
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.