English Reference
Idiom idiom

smooth sailing

Meaning

Used to describe an activity that is not encountering any problems.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples
SIMPLE

“After the first week, everything was smooth sailing.”

CONTEXTUAL

“The project had a difficult start, but now that the team is working well together, it is smooth sailing.”

COMPLEX

“Once the initial legal challenges were resolved, the remainder of the merger process proved to be smooth sailing for the company.”

Anchors to
Related idioms3entries
  1. 01

    silky smooth

    Extremely smooth

  2. 02

    smooth down

    To render smooth, to remove roughness from

  3. 03

    smooth operator

    A person who accomplishes tasks with efficiency and grace, especially one with verbal skills who is persuasive in interpersonal relationships, negotiation, etc.

Last updated August 10, 2026