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 let’s also admit that his latest way of testing the patience of global oil consumers is so far going swimmingly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

He only ever speaks when it's going wrong for him or it's not going swimmingly.

From BBC • Dec. 7, 2025

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

It’s all been going relatively swimmingly for him, who simply sticks to his ways.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 23, 2025

“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