From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpipe dreampipe dreamPROBABLYa hope, idea, plan etc that is impossible or will probably never happen In many parts of the country, democratic elections are simply a pipe dream. → pipe
Examples from the Corpus
pipe dream• The November 1992 unveiling quickly became a pipe dream, and the museum now plans to finish the new wing incrementally.• Making it all the way to the NFL is a pipe dream for most athletes.• How are you going to ensure that Care in the Community is not just a pipe dream?• Yet collective, national education re-form seems mostly a pipe dream.• For now, it is only a pipe dream.• Of course, it's a pipe dream.• What a pipe dream, we thought, as many children were getting no education at all.• It was ready because the artfully crafted pipe dream of the land traffickers was beginning to sour.• This is not some pipe dream. 