adverb
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with ease; without difficulty or exertion
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by far; beyond question; undoubtedly
he is easily the best in the contest
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probably; almost certainly
he may easily come first
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of easily
First recorded in 1250–1300, easily is from the Middle English word esily. See easy, -ly
Explanation
Things that happen easily don't require a lot of effort. When your old car starts easily on a very cold morning, you'll breathe a sigh of relief. While you can only climb a mountain with difficulty, you can probably climb the stairs in your house easily. You can also use this adverb to mean something closer to "quickly," as when you describe your puppy as easily distracted with treats or yourself as easily bored by long books. The Old French root of easily is aisie, "comfortable" or "at ease."
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.
Although the brewery has "grown every year", success has not come easily.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
RAND: The primary reason the model is effective is its ability to come up with lots of relevant facts and evidence, and then explain it in a clear, easily understandable way.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
The 14th Amendment was adopted after the Civil War in part to establish citizenship protections that could not easily be revoked by political shifts in power.
From Salon • May 24, 2026
I’m looking for A.I. to help me jot down and store my thoughts in the right place when I’m not in a position to easily do that.
From Slate • May 24, 2026
Finding we could make raps with our feet—first one foot and then with both—we practiced until we could do this easily when the room was dark.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
