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.
Most importantly, he’s an excellent communicator who can boil down complex policy ideas into easily digestible concepts without dumbing them down.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
One experiment will explore manufacturing artificial retinas in microgravity, where the near absence of gravity creates conditions that cannot easily be reproduced on Earth.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
Plastics were long thought to be chemically inert, meaning they don’t react easily with other compounds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
While customers may trust recommendations from outside agents more than captive ones, in-house agents have far better visibility on inventory and promotions, and can more easily troubleshoot customer problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Though the thorns had scraped her wings, they were leathery and too tough to be easily pierced.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
