easy

eas|y¹ W1S1 [ˈi:zi] adj comparative easier superlative easiest

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1¦(not difficult)¦

2¦(comfortable)¦

3¦(not worried)¦

4¦(friendly)¦

5¦(easily attacked)¦

6 take the easy way out

7 have an easy time (of it)

8 easy money

9 easy on the eye/ear

10 it's/that's easy for you to say

11 there are no easy answers

12 I'm easy

13 be (living) on easy street

14 on easy terms

15 eggs over easy

16 woman/lady/girl of easy virtue

17¦(sex)¦

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[Date: 1100-1200; : Old French; Origin: aisié, from aise; EASE¹]

1.) ¦(NOT DIFFICULT)¦

not difficult to do, and not needing much effort

≠ ↑difficult, hard ↑hard

▪ The test was easy.

▪ Finishing the task will not be easy.

▪ There must be an easier way to do that.

easy to do sth

▪ It's a great car, and very easy to drive.

▪ instructions that are easy to follow

▪ It would have been easy for the team to lose the game.

make it easier (to do sth)

▪ The software makes it easier to download music from the net.

▪ Having you here does make things a lot easier for me.

as easy as pie/ABC/falling off a log

(=very easy)

▪ The station is within easy reach of (=close to) the town centre.

▪ The park is within easy walking distance (=close enough to walk to) .

2.) ¦(COMFORTABLE)¦

comfortable or relaxed, and without problems

≠ ↑hard

▪ On the whole, Dad has had an easy life .

easy day/week etc

▪ She had a nice easy day at home.

▪ You can have an easy time of it now that the kids have all left home.

▪ Why don't we make life easy for ourselves and finish it tomorrow?

3.) ¦(NOT WORRIED)¦

not feeling worried or anxious

≠ ↑uneasy

▪ We talk more openly when we feel easy and relaxed.

▪ I can leave the children with my mother with an easy mind .

4.) ¦(FRIENDLY)¦

friendly and pleasant with other people

▪ She is gentle and easy to be with .

5.) ¦(EASILY ATTACKED)¦

able to be hunted or attacked without difficulty

▪ The soldiers on the streets are an easy target for terrorists.

▪ Tourists are easy prey for thieves.

6.) take the easy way out

to end a situation in a way that seems easy, but is not the best or most sensible way

▪ I just took the easy way out and gave him some cash.

7.) have an easy time (of it)

to have no problems or difficulties

▪ She's not been having an easy time of it financially.

8.) easy money

money that you do not have to work hard to get

▪ We can buy them for $10 and sell them for $25 - easy money.

9.) easy on the eye/ear

pleasant to look at or listen to

▪ Soft colours are easy on the eye.

10.) it's/that's easy for you to say

spoken used when someone has given you some advice that would be difficult for you to follow

11.) there are no easy answers

used when saying that it is difficult to find a good way of dealing with a problem

12.) I'm easy

spoken used to say that you do not mind what choice is made

▪ 'What would you like to do now?' 'I don't know, I'm easy.'

13.) be (living) on easy street

informal, especially AmE to be in a situation in which you have plenty of money

▪ If I get this new job, we'll be living on easy street.

14.) on easy terms

if you buy something on easy terms, you pay for it with several small payments instead of paying the whole amount at once

▪ New settlers in the west could buy land on relatively easy terms.

15.) eggs over easy

AmE eggs cooked on a hot surface and turned over quickly before serving

16.) woman/lady/girl of easy virtue

old-fashioned a woman who has sex with a lot of men

17.) ¦(SEX)¦ informal

someone, especially a woman, who is easy has a lot of sexual partners

→↑ease, ↑easily

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WORD FOCUS: easy

easy to do: simple, not difficult

very easy to do: be a piece of cake, be child's play, be a snap (AmE), be a doddle (BrE), anyone can do it, be like falling off a log (informal)

easy to use: user-friendly

easy job: cushy (informal)

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easy ²

easy² S2 adv

1.) take it easy

a) also take things easy

to relax and not do very much

▪ Take things easy for a few days and you should be all right.

b) spoken used to tell someone to become less upset or angry

▪ Just take it easy and tell us what happened.

c) AmE spoken used to say goodbye

2.) go easy on/with sth

to not use too much of something

▪ Go easy on salty foods such as bacon.

3.) go easy on sb

to be more gentle and less strict or angry with someone

▪ Go easy on Peter for a while - he's having a hard time at school.

4.) easier said than done

especially spoken used to say that something would be very difficult to do

▪ Finding the perfect house was easier said than done.

5.) rest/breathe easy

to stop worrying

▪ We can rest easy now - we've got everything under control.

6.) easy does it

spoken used to tell someone to be more careful and slow, especially in moving

7.) get off easy informal

to escape severe punishment for something that you have done wrong

▪ The rich could hire good lawyers and get off easy.

8.) easy come, easy go

spoken used when something, especially money, was easily obtained and is quickly used or spent

9.) stand easy

an order telling soldiers who are already standing at ↑ease to relax more