<B>easy, </B>adjective, <B>easier,</B> <B>easiest,</B> adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>not hard to do or get; obtained with or requiring little effort. <BR> <I>Ex. an easy victory, easy work quickly done.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>free from pain, discomfort, trouble, or worry. <BR> <I>Ex. The rich young woman has an easy life.</I> (SYN) tranquil, comfortable. <DD><B> 3. </B>giving comfort or rest. <BR> <I>Ex. The old cot is an easy bed to lie on. 'Twas a green and easy world As she took it (Elizabeth Barrett Browning).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>fond of comfort or rest; lazy. <BR> <I>Ex. the easy man who sits at his own door,--and ... feeds in the sunshine (Wordsworth).</I> (SYN) indolent. <DD><B> 5. </B>not strict or harsh; not hard to get on with; not severe. <BR> <I>Ex. a teacher who is an easy marker. Father bought the new car on easy terms of payment.</I> (SYN) lenient. <DD><B> 6a. </B>not hard to influence; ready to agree with, believe in, or help anyone. <BR> <I>Ex. He was an easy victim for every get-rich-quick scheme.</I> (SYN) compliant. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. a woman of easy virtue.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>smooth and pleasant; not awkward. <BR> <I>Ex. She has easy manners. He has an easy way of speaking to everyone.</I> (SYN) relaxed. <DD><B> 8. </B>not steep; gradual. <BR> <I>Ex. an easy slope.</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>not tight; loose. <BR> <I>Ex. an easy fit. Among her easy dresses is a sheath of black silk linen in a bud pattern of bright blue, light blue, and bright green (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 10. </B>slow; not fast; not hurried. <BR> <I>Ex. The old horse moved at an easy pace.</I> (SYN) gentle, moderate. <DD><B> 11. </B>(of a commodity) not much in demand; not hard to get. <BR> <I>Ex. The supply situation for motorists in the metropolitan area remained generally easy, but Chicago was having increasing difficulty keeping its gasoline pumps going (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 12. </B>(of a money market) favorable to borrowers. <BR> <I>Ex. Federal Reserve Board authorities and the President's top advisers now plan to allow the money market to remain easy, but not "extra" easy (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 13. </B>(of aces or honors in card games) divided evenly between the competing sides. <DD><I>adv. </I> <B>1. </B>(Informal.) without much trouble; at a leisurely pace; easily. <BR> <I>Ex. Everything was going on quite easy and comfortable (Harriet Beecher Stowe).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>without trying hard; with little effort. <BR><I>expr. <B>easy come, easy go,</B> </I>(Informal.) something easily obtained may be spent or lost just as easily. <BR> <I>Ex. Once again a report ... will shock taxpayers with evidence or hints that Government departments spend money on the principle of easy come, easy go (London Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>easy does it,</B> </I>(Informal.) not so fast; take your time; be careful. <BR> <I>Ex. "Easy does it, sister," I said, stopping her. "Take your place in line" (S. J. Perelman).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>go easy on,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to be gentle or tactful with. </I> <I>Ex. Go easy on the new neighbor when you complain about the dog.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to indulge in or use in moderation. <BR> <I>Ex. Most dentists recommend that children go easy on candy.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>take it</B> (or <B>things</B>) <B>easy,</B> </I>(Informal.) to refrain from exerting or disturbing oneself. <BR> <I>Ex. It was wisdom to take things easy and go along comfortably (Mark Twain).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="easycare">
<B>easy-care, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> requiring little or no work after laundering, especially no ironing. <BR> <I>Ex. Now, polymers are the scientific basis for the innovation of products ranging from easy-care fabrics to artificial heart, kidney and artery supplements (William O. Baker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="easychair">
<B>easy chair,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a comfortable chair, usually having arms and cushions. <BR> <I>Ex. But sit down, Cluet. Take that easy chair (Edgar Maass).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="easygoing">
<B>easygoing, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>taking matters easily; not worrying. <BR> <I>Ex. an easygoing way of life. The new teacher is pleasantly easygoing and relaxed with the class.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having an easy gait or step. <BR> <I>Ex. an easygoing horse.</I> noun <B>easygoingness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="easymark">
<B>easy mark,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) a person who is easily imposed upon. <BR> <I>Ex. Fat cats and fortune builders ... are easy marks for agitators working among back-country villagers who lack all sense of local identity and live in swamps of bitterness or apathy (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="easymeat">
<B>easy meat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially British Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a person easily duped or imposed upon; easy mark. <DD><B> 2. </B>an easy thing to do or get. <BR> <I>Ex. He himself says modestly, "It's easy meat, playing for England" (Sunday Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="easymoney">
<B>easy money,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>money borrowed or available for loan at a low rate of interest. <BR> <I>Ex. ... policies to encourage business expansion--notably, stepped-up government spending and easy money (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>money obtained by crime or deceit. <BR> <I>Ex. It may be this ... spirit that inspires the midnight burglar ..., not merely the desire for easy money (Gertrude Atherton).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="easyrider">
<B>easy rider,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a guitar. <BR> <I>Ex. Old blues singers applied the term easy rider to the guitar, which, because of its shoulder strap, "rode easy" (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a male lover. <DD><B> 3. </B>a man who lives off a woman's earnings. </DL>
<A NAME="easystreet">
<B>easy street</B> or <B>Easy Street,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) the state of being financially secure or independent. <BR> <I>Ex. The only way Easy Street seems to have changed him is to have eliminated [his] need for ... defiant extravagances (Time).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>on easy street</B> or <B>Easy Street,</B> </I>in comfortable circumstances; financially secure or independent. <BR> <I>Ex. As the heir to a fortune, he expects to be on easy street one day.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="eat">
<B>eat, </B>verb, <B>ate,</B> <B>eaten,</B> <B>eating,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to chew and swallow (food). <BR> <I>Ex. Cows eat grass and grain.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to gnaw or devour. <BR> <I>Ex. Termites have eaten the posts and ruined the fence.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to destroy as if by eating; wear away; corrode. <BR> <I>Ex. This acid eats metal.</I> (SYN) consume. <DD><B> 4. </B>to make by eating. <BR> <I>Ex. Moths ate holes in my wool coat.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) to bother; annoy. <BR> <I>Ex. I wonder what's eating him.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to have a meal. <BR> <I>Ex. Where shall we eat?</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to make a way, as if by gnawing or corrosion. <BR> <I>Ex. The sea has eaten into the north shore.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>eats,</B> (U.S. Slang.) food. <BR> <I>Ex. They smiled and smiled, they dandled babies, they staged fiestas with free eats (Harper's).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>eat crow.</B> </I>See under <B>crow</B> (1). <BR><I>expr. <B>eat one's heart out.</B> </I>See under <B>heart.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>eat one's words.</B> </I>See under <B>word.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>eat out,</B> </I>to eat at a restaurant; eat away from home; dine out. <BR> <I>Ex. Let's eat out tonight instead of cooking a meal at home.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>eat out of one's hand.</B> </I>See under <B>hand.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>eat up,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to eat all of. </I> <I>Ex. Eat up your spinach and then you may have dessert.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. Extravagant spending ate up his savings.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>(Informal.) to receive eagerly or greedily. <BR> <I>Ex. She is eating up the course in algebra. They offered him the most absurd flattery, and he ate it up.</I> noun <B>eater.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="eatable">
<B>eatable, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> fit to eat; edible. <BR> <I>Ex. It is inevitably eatable, usually tasty, always well-served, and priced moderately (Time).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>eatables,</B> things fit to eat; food items; edibles. <BR> <I>Ex. I set the stage for the making of these innocent little eatables (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="eaten">
<B>eaten, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> past participle of <B>eat.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. Have you eaten your dinner?</I> </DL>
<A NAME="eatery">
<B>eatery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-eries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) a restaurant. </DL>
<B>eating, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of a person or thing that eats. <DD><B> 2. </B>food with reference to its taste or quality when it is being eaten. <BR> <I>Ex. This fish is delicious eating.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="eatingdisorder">
<B>eating disorder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various psychological conditions involving abnormal eating habits, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. </DL>
<A NAME="eatinghouse">
<B>eating house,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a restaurant, especially one of an inferior sort. </DL>
<A NAME="eatonagent">
<B>Eaton agent,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a microorganism, a variety of mycoplasma, that is the causative agent of primary atypical pneumonia. </DL>
<A NAME="eau">
<B>eau, </B>noun, pl. <B>eaux.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) water. </DL>
<B>eau de cologne</B> or <B>Eau de Cologne, =cologne </B>(def. 1).</DL>
<A NAME="eaudenil">
<B>eau de nil,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) <DD><B> 1. </B>Nile green. <DD><B> 2. </B>(literally) water of the Nile. </DL>
<A NAME="eaudevie">
<B>eau de vie,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) <DD><B> 1. </B>brandy. <DD><B> 2. </B>(literally) water of life. </DL>
<A NAME="eaudor">
<B>eau d'or,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) <DD><B> 1. </B>toilet water made from the flowers of the lily of the valley. <DD><B> 2. </B>(literally) water of gold. </DL>
