Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fantastic notion or vain hope.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun idiomatic A plan, desire, or idea that will not likely work; a near impossibility.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a fantastic but vain hope (from fantasies induced by the opium pipe)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From the fantasies induced by smoking a pipe of opium.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the fantasies experienced when smoking an opium pipe.

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Examples

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Comments

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  • The only pipe dream that ever worked is when a plumber got a job.

    December 3, 2008