pie-in-the-sky
UK/ˈpaɪ n̩ ðə ˈskaɪ/
pie-in-the-sky adjective: lacking reality and serviceability.
Adjective
pie-in-the-sky (comparative more pie-in-the-sky, superlative most pie-in-the-sky)
- Lacking reality and serviceability.
- a pie-in-the-sky patent
- Of a dream, unlikely to ever come true; impractical, unrealizable.
- “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.2000 September 10, Maggie Farley, John J. Goldman, “U.N. Crafts Plan to Change World”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
- There are also several augmented reality tools, meant for advertising and teaching, and some futuristic surreal experiences that remind me of scenes from Star Trek’s holodeck. Some of the virtual reality demos are very pie-in-the-sky and probably won’t see the real world for some years to come...2010 April 8, Nick Bilton, “At French Conference, Virtual Reality Meets Reality”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Mar...
Examples of pie-in-the-sky in a sentence
- Some of the virtual reality demos are very pie-in-the-sky and probably won’t see the real world for some years to come; others are just a few years away.2010 April 8, Nick Bilton, “At French Conference, Virtual Reality Meets Reality”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times...
- If that sounds all very pie-in-the-sky, then think again.2014 April 22, Mary Catherine O’Connor, “Reimagining growth: a new approach to business success”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian...
- If his [Donald Trump's] detailing was productive, it was somewhat undermined by a final, typical Trumpian flourish of pie-in-the-sky rhetoric.2017 March 1, Anthony Zurcher, “Trump addresses Congress: A kinder, gentler president”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 05 Jun...
- In other words, the usual mix of sound thinking and pie-in-the-sky electioneering promises which convince no one.2019 December 4, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Williams or Nationalisation?”, in Rail, page 3:
Forms of pie-in-the-sky
| comparative | more pie-in-the-sky |
|---|---|
| superlative | most pie-in-the-sky |
| alternative form | pie in the sky |
Origin of pie-in-the-sky
From the noun pie in the sky.
Words that rhyme with pie-in-the-sky
Questions about pie-in-the-sky
- What does pie-in-the-sky mean?
- Pie-in-the-sky means lacking reality and serviceability.
- How do you use pie-in-the-sky in a sentence?
- Some of the virtual reality demos are very pie-in-the-sky and probably won’t see the real world for some years to come; others are just a few years away.
- What part of speech is pie-in-the-sky?
- Pie-in-the-sky is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce pie-in-the-sky?
- Pie-in-the-sky is pronounced /ˈpaɪ n̩ ðə ˈskaɪ/ (UK).
Words near pie-in-the-sky in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pie-in-the-sky (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-pie-in-the-sky.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pie-in-the-sky.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pie-in-the-sky. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.