ivory tower
noun
1
: an impractical often escapist attitude marked by aloof lack of concern with or interest in practical matters or urgent problems
2
: a secluded place that affords the means of treating practical issues with an impractical often escapist attitude
especially : a place of learning
ivory-tower
ˈī-v(ə-)rē-ˈtau̇(-ə)r 
adjective ivory-towerish
ˈī-v(ə-)rē-ˈtau̇-(ə-)rish
adjective 
Example Sentences
The book was written by some college professor who's spent her entire professional life in an ivory tower.
Recent Examples on the Web Scott also emphasizes that Indigenous leaders are highly visible and personable—never giving the impression of inhabiting an ivory tower. 
Kiran Herbert, Outside Online, 23 Dec. 2020 Outside these ivory tower debates, however, the use of mātauranga carries on. New York Times, 1 June 2022 Haglund also stressed that not all the most interesting work is relegated to the ivory tower. Tamarra Kemsley, The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 June 2022 One of the longest-serving chancellors in recent UW-Madison history, Blank brought stability to an institution that has sometimes been used as a political punching bag and viewed as an ivory tower of elitism. Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11 May 2022 Her playing, however, is light-years away from the ivory tower. Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2022 The Left is a ticking time bomb, and the Right shows little sympathy for those purged by the ivory tower. Aron Ravin, National Review, 3 Apr. 2022 Of course, Childs could have entered the federal judiciary's ivory tower years ago. Bakari Sellers, CNN, 4 Feb. 2022 This hybrid practice repeatedly took him out of the academic ivory tower and into rural Africa, the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and hip-hop clubs in the Bronx. New York Times, 12 Dec. 2021 See More
Kiran Herbert, Outside Online, 23 Dec. 2020 Outside these ivory tower debates, however, the use of mātauranga carries on. New York Times, 1 June 2022 Haglund also stressed that not all the most interesting work is relegated to the ivory tower. Tamarra Kemsley, The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 June 2022 One of the longest-serving chancellors in recent UW-Madison history, Blank brought stability to an institution that has sometimes been used as a political punching bag and viewed as an ivory tower of elitism. Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11 May 2022 Her playing, however, is light-years away from the ivory tower. Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2022 The Left is a ticking time bomb, and the Right shows little sympathy for those purged by the ivory tower. Aron Ravin, National Review, 3 Apr. 2022 Of course, Childs could have entered the federal judiciary's ivory tower years ago. Bakari Sellers, CNN, 4 Feb. 2022 This hybrid practice repeatedly took him out of the academic ivory tower and into rural Africa, the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and hip-hop clubs in the Bronx. New York Times, 12 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
translation of French tour d'ivoire
First Known Use
1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1