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.
Best for Beginners: TunnelBear — Easily the most user-friendly option.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
Easily bottled, propane was the first bounty from the shale boom to flood into overseas markets, especially in Asia.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Easily accessible generative artificial intelligence tools, such as Google's Veo and OpenAI's Sora, enable the creation of realistic imagery using just a few descriptive words.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
Easily attaining the top-25 finish that took her to the magic number of 20 eligibility points, meant that she would avoid potential golfing torture at qualifying school for the primary women's tour.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2025
Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
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.
