at ease
Idioms-
Also, at one's ease . Comfortable, relaxed, unembarrassed, as in I always feel at ease in my grandmother's house . The related idiom put at ease means “make comfortable, reassure,” as in I was worried that the letter would not arrive in time, but the postmaster put me at ease . [1300s] For the antonym, see ill at ease .
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In a relaxed position in military ranks. The phrase is often used as a command for troops standing at attention to relax, as in At ease, squadron . The command stand at ease is slightly different. A British military dictionary of 1802 described it as standing with the right foot drawn back about six inches and one's weight put on it. An American version is to stand with one's feet slightly apart and the hands clasped behind one's back.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That direct comparison with the dot-com bubble peak probably won’t help to put investors’ minds at ease, Krinsky told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026
Hearing who I was and where I was from seemed to put her more at ease.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
Reading between the lines of Lewis’s journal, I get the sense that he was most at ease when he was observing nature.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
"Everyone is at ease now, we are more relaxed," Sakineh Mohammadi, a 50-year-old housewife, told AFP, saying she was "proud" of her country.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
In time, he became a good public speaker, even feeling at ease making presentations before the city council.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
