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Synonyms

smooth sailing

Idioms  

  1. Easy progress, as in We had a hard time setting up the new computer system but it'll be smooth sailing from here on. The smooth in this idiom alludes to calm waters, free from big waves or roughness, a usage dating from the late 1300s. The transfer to other kinds of easy progress dates from the second half of the 1900s. Also see plain 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.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing in that crisis either.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Sometimes, the opposite can also hold true: When the bond market is calm, it can signal smooth sailing ahead for stocks.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 22, 2025

That doesn’t mean it will be smooth sailing for AI, as Oracle’s results demonstrated.

From Barron's • Dec. 12, 2025

But once the Dodger Stadium gates finally opened, everything was more or less smooth sailing.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

All was smooth sailing till eight weeks into their journey when, on the verge of uncharted waters, they came across the longboat filled with human bones.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

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.