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.
But he was more at ease knowing the three men were there for her.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
Put your boss’s mind at ease and answer that email, even if it feels like overcommunicating.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Kelly looked a little ill at ease to be out from behind the desk where she records her daily political commentary program, The Megyn Kelly Show.
From Slate • May 6, 2026
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
I could see he was not at ease, so I took his poor old wrinkled hand in mine and asked him to speak fully; so he said, leaving his hand in mine:—
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
