Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

on an even keel

Idioms  

  1. Stable, balanced, as in She had the knack of keeping us on an even keel in any emergency. This term, used figuratively since the mid-1800s, alludes to keeping a vessel's keel in a level position, assuring smooth sailing.

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.

After decades of "boom and bust", cross-border retail in Newry and Dundalk is on "an even keel", according to business leaders in the area.

From BBC • Dec. 21, 2025

I sacrificed everything I have to be able to get back on an even keel for them.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2024

“So I think we have to stay on an even keel in weighing those threats carefully but also not being intimidated by them.”

From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2023

Li, who has fought an uphill battle to keep the economy on an even keel while pushing limited changes, appears keen to leave his mark on the public memory as a reformer.

From Reuters • Sep. 14, 2022

Up front, Roger Morris and Chuck Day were having a hard time keeping the boat on an even keel.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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.