handily

American  

[han-di-lee, -dl-ee] / ˈhæn dɪ li, -dl i /

adverb

1. skillfully; dexterously; expertly.

   to manage a boat handily.

2. conveniently.

   The books were handily at his side.

3. easily.

   We won handily.

4. Midland U.S. rightly; readily.

   You can't handily blame him.

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handily British  

/ ˈhændɪlɪ /

adverb

1. in a handy way or manner

2. conveniently or suitably

   handily nearby

3. easily

   the horse won handily

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Etymology

Origin of handily

First recorded in 1605–15; handy + -ly

Explanation

Doing something handily means it's easy or convenient. If the post office is handily located near your house, you can handily mail all your holiday cards on your way to school. This adverb can be used for things that are close at hand, making them easily available, or for anything done gracefully or dexterously: "She handily shuffled the cards and dealt." However, you'll most often find handily filling in for "easily," in sentences like "They handily won the game," or "He handily beat his opponents in the election." The earliest meaning of handily, dating from the 14th century, was "done by hand."

Example Sentences

Stripping out certain one-time items in the latest period, Halliburton logged first-quarter adjusted earnings of 55 cents a share, handily beating the mean analyst estimate of 50 cents a share, as per FactSet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Shares have handily outperformed the broader market this year, rising nearly 16%.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Cox went on to lose handily to Newsom in November.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026

Balen is running against Oli, the former prime minister, in the district that the 74-year-old political veteran handily won for years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

Later that fall, I buckled down and studied for a do-over test, going on to pass it handily.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• cleverly
• conveniently
• easily
• smoothly