swimmingly

American

[swim-ing-lee] / ˈswɪm ɪŋ li /

adverb

without difficulty; with great success; effortlessly.

She passed the exam swimmingly.

swimmingly British

/ ˈswɪmɪŋlɪ /

adverb

successfully, effortlessly, or well (esp in the phrase go swimmingly )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of swimmingly

1615–25; swimming (in sense “progressing smoothly”) + -ly

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.

But for Cadillac, the transition is going swimmingly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026

There’s nothing like a Fed put to buttress markets, even if doubts exist this whole artificial-intelligence thing is going to work out swimmingly.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 24, 2025

So, in terms of the first week inclusive of the opening statements, the direct, cross-examination, and redirect of the state’s first witness David Pecker it is going swimmingly.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2024

Everything seemed to be going swimmingly for United after arguably their most accomplished 25 minutes of the season at the start of Wednesday's game.

From BBC • Nov. 8, 2023

“If things neural were going swimmingly with Vi, the number you detect would be about ninety- eight percent.”

From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023