handily
Americanadverb
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skillfully; dexterously; expertly.
to manage a boat handily.
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conveniently.
The books were handily at his side.
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easily.
We won handily.
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Midland U.S. rightly; readily.
You can't handily blame him.
adverb
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in a handy way or manner
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conveniently or suitably
handily nearby
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easily
the horse won handily
Etymology
Origin of handily
Explanation
Doing something handily means it's easy or convenient. If the post office is handily located near your house, you can handily mail all your holiday cards on your way to school. This adverb can be used for things that are close at hand, making them easily available, or for anything done gracefully or dexterously: "She handily shuffled the cards and dealt." However, you'll most often find handily filling in for "easily," in sentences like "They handily won the game," or "He handily beat his opponents in the election." The earliest meaning of handily, dating from the 14th century, was "done by hand."
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.
Harvie won handily in his primary, but Baines, in the California primary on Tuesday, was trailing her progressive opponent, Randy Villegas, at the time of writing, though the race was too close to call.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026
In that contest, which he won handily, he had the major advantage of incumbency after being appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to fill the vacancy caused by then-Atty.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
Snowflake surges 37% after 1Q profit handily surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
Although the difference was especially large in the past decade, stocks also beat bonds handily over all time periods of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 years ending with 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
The possibility of some new clothes had woken Lady Constance up handily.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
