pie-in-the-sky
/ˈpaɪ n̩ ðə ˈskaɪ/
"pie-in-the-sky" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pie-in-the-sky” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lacking reality and serviceability.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pie-in-the-sky · pie-in-the-sky · English
pie-in-the-sky · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pie-in-the-sky |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpaɪ n̩ ðə ˈskaɪ/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pie-in-the-sky” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pie-in-the-sky is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈpaɪ n̩ ðə ˈskaɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for pie-in-the-sky in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the noun pie in the sky. The correct English form is pie-in-the-sky, spelled P-I-E---I-N---T-H-E---S-K-Y.
Definition
- 1Lacking reality and serviceability.
- 2Of a dream unlikely to ever come true; impractical, unrealizable.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pie-in-the-sky appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
a pie-in-the-sky patent
“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.
Etymology
From the noun pie in the sky.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.