easy
Americanadjective
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easier,
comparative
-
easiest
superlative
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not hard or difficult; requiring no great labor or effort.
a book that is easy to read; an easy victory.
- Antonyms:
- difficult
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free from pain, discomfort, worry, or care.
He led an easy life.
- Synonyms:
- quiet, contented, comfortable, untroubled, tranquil
- Antonyms:
- agitated
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providing or conducive to ease or comfort; comfortable.
an easy stance; an easy relationship.
- Antonyms:
- uncomfortable
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fond of or given to ease; easygoing.
an easy disposition.
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not harsh or strict; lenient.
an easy master.
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not burdensome or oppressive.
easy terms on a loan.
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not difficult to influence or overcome; compliant.
an easy prey; an easy mark.
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free from formality, constraint, or embarrassment.
He has an easy manner.
- Synonyms:
- unconstrained, smooth
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effortlessly clear and fluent.
an easy style of writing.
-
readily comprehended or mastered.
an easy language to learn.
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not tight or constricting.
an easy fit.
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not forced or hurried; moderate.
an easy pace.
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not steep; gradual.
an easy flight of stairs.
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Commerce.
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(of a commodity) not difficult to obtain; in plentiful supply and often weak in price.
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(of the market) not characterized by eager demand.
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Nautical.
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(of a bilge) formed in a long curve so as to make a gradual transition between the bottom and sides of a vessel; slack.
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(of the run of a hull) having gently curved surfaces leading from the middle body to the stern; not abrupt.
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adverb
noun
adjective
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not requiring much labour or effort; not difficult; simple
an easy job
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free from pain, care, or anxiety
easy in one's mind
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not harsh or restricting; lenient
easy laws
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tolerant and undemanding; easy-going
an easy disposition
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readily influenced or persuaded; pliant
she was an easy victim of his wiles
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not tight or constricting; loose
an easy fit
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not strained or extreme; moderate; gentle
an easy pace
an easy ascent
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economics
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readily obtainable
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(of a market) characterized by low demand or excess supply with prices tending to fall Compare tight
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informal ready to fall in with any suggestion made; not predisposed
he is easy about what to do
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slang sexually available
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informal pleasant to look at; attractive, esp sexually
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a sexually available woman, esp a prostitute
adverb
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informal in an easy or relaxed manner
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informal go slowly and carefully; be careful
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to use in moderation
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to treat leniently
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military a command to soldiers standing at ease that they may relax further
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to avoid stress or undue hurry
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to remain calm; not become agitated or angry
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verb
Usage
What is a basic definition of easy? Easy describes something that is not difficult and requires little effort. Easy also describes something that is not stressful. Informally, easy means in a comfortable way. Easy has many other senses as an adjective and one as a noun. The most common sense of easy describes something that is simple and requires very little effort or work. This sense is an antonym of words such as difficult, challenging, or tough. Easily means in a way without difficulty. The word ease can mean a lack of stress or difficulty. Real-life examples: Many things you might find easy to do were once hard until you learned to do them. Counting to five is easy once you learn to count. Finding the yellow crayon among all the blue crayons is easy once you know your colors. You no longer have to think about how to do these tasks. They are easy for you now. Used in a sentence: She thought the math test was really easy. Easy also describes something that lacks stress or any other sources of discomfort. This sense usually describes a person’s life as being relaxing or free from any problems or worries. Real-life examples: Pampered pets often lead easy lives of sleeping and eating. When you’re on vacation, life often seems relaxing and easy. Used in a sentence: He had an easy time at work today because nobody came into the store. Easy is used informally to mean comfortably or without much stress or hardship. In formal writing, easily is preferred. Real-life examples: Teachers will often go easy on students they like, meaning they won’t punish those students as harshly or will make things easier for them. If you are taking it easy, you are lounging around and not trying to work hard. If something comes easy to someone, it means they don’t need much effort to master it or complete it. Used in a sentence: The manager went easy on the new employee, giving them a gentle warning.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of easy
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English aisie, esy, from Anglo-French (a)eisie, Old French aisié, aised, past participle of aisier to ease
Explanation
The adjective easy can describe anything that comes without too much effort, like your baseball team's easy win, or your dad's easy recipe for nachos. Something that's easy isn't at all difficult — it just seems to fall into place. There's also a sense of slowness, casualness, and a lack of worry, like getting an easy "A" in your History of Hip Hop class. Easy comes from the Old French word aisie, "comfortable, rich, well-off," an easy way to live indeed. The only thing about easy that's less than simple is remembering to change the y to an i for variations like easier and easiest.
Vocabulary lists containing easy
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.
See Examples For:
Yet I’d actually adapted to and enjoyed easy Zoom live video meetings, which mirrored my regular courses.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
"The road after baby loss is never easy and trusting again can feel impossible," said Hayley.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
It was his 21st, 17 of which were “successful,” he said, adding that the clear conditions in Léon had made the most recent one almost too easy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
"By freezing the liquid core, we have created an entirely new physical platform that provides extreme nonlinearities while being easy to handle," says Stiller.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
“Sure,” Tom said, “that would be easy, but I don’t know about getting through the gate. It looks a little narrow to me.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
All of this ad hoc-ness makes it easier for family members to challenge in court.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Reducing the polymer film thickness increased the number of locations where droplets could form, while thermal treatment made it easier for those droplets to leave the surface.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
The attacks on the warehouses -- typically easier to reach than heavily-defended military installations -- have already delivered economic losses worth billions of dollars.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
“StubHub’s mission is to make it easier and safer to buy tickets, and for over 26 years, we’ve helped millions of fans attend the concerts, games, and shows that matter to them,” the spokesperson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
“It’d be easier if Katherine had held the camera a little steadier,” Chip told Jonah at the bus stop the third morning.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
“It was easy. The easiest happiness that I had come by in a long time,” she wrote in the memoir.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
"Bifidobacterium is not the easiest organism to work with," Mimee said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
But for a city that was once home to the most-bombed hotel in Europe, Belfast was not always the easiest destination to sell.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The old move is the easiest one: Tune out the noise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Flushing the milk away turned out to be the easiest part of the process.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
