Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

build castles in the air

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.44 in modern English

Syllables: build -castles in the air
IPA

28

Scrabble Score

20

Letters

2

Syllables

13

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To have any desire, idea, or plan that is unlikely to be realized; to imagine visionary projects or schemes; to have an idle fancy or a pipe dream; to daydream.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Look you, Amanda, you may build castles in the air, "and fume, and fret, and grow thin and lean, and pale and ugly, if you please." But I tell you, no man worth having is true to his wife, or can be true to his wife, or ever was, or will be so."
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."
"Labor and you build castles in the air. Vote Conservative and you can live in them."

Etymology

The first term dates from the late 1500s. A variant, castles in Spain (or châteaux en Espagne), was recorded in the Roman de la Rose in the 13th century and translated into English around 1365.

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

builds castles in the air (present, singular) building castles in the air (participle, present) built castles in the air (participle, past) built castles in the air (past) builded castles in the air (archaic, participle) builded castles in the air (archaic, past) build air castles (alternative)

Phrases

castle in the air

Frequently Paired Words

castle in the air

Questions

What does build castles in the air mean?: To have any desire, idea, or plan that is unlikely to be realized; to imagine visionary projects or schemes; to have an idle fancy or a pipe dream; to daydream.
Where does build castles in the air come from?: The first term dates from the late 1500s. A variant, castles in Spain (or châteaux en Espagne), was recorded in the Roman de la Rose in the 13th century and translated into English around 1365.

How to pronounce build castles in the air

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