Pie-in-the-sky

//ˈpaɪ n̩ ðə ˈskaɪ// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Lacking reality and serviceability. idiomatic

    "a pie-in-the-sky patent"

  2. 2
    Of a dream unlikely to ever come true; impractical, unrealizable. idiomatic

    "“Halving poverty in 15 years seems like the most pie-in-the-sky goal imaginable,” said Mark Malloch Brown, head of the U.N. Development Program. “But it’s really quite doable. And the people who can do it are right here."

Example

More examples

"Tim's employer promised him pie-in-the-sky benefits."

Etymology

From the noun pie in the sky.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.