Meanings
- idiomaticuncountableUsed to describe an activity that is not encountering any problems.
It's all been smooth sailing; everything has gone exactly according to plan.
2 more examples
We had some problems at the very beginning, but it's been smooth sailing since the second week or so.
Not that all was smooth sailing for MGM in Nazi Germany.
2013, Thomas Doherty, Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 315Synonyms: plain sailing
Synonyms & antonyms
nounUsed to describe an activity that is not encountering any problems.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 一帆風順 /一帆风顺
- 一帆風順 /一帆风顺 (yīfānfēngshùn)easily, without problems
Finnish sujuva, ruusuilla tanssimista
- sujuvaeasily, without problems
- ruusuilla tanssimistaeasily, without problems
French un long fleuve tranquille
- un long fleuve tranquilleeasily, without problems
Japanese 順風満帆
- 順風満帆 (junpūmanpan)easily, without problems
Portuguese suave na nave
- suave na naveeasily, without problems
Spanish camino de rosas
- camino de rosaseasily, without problems
Cite this entry
smooth sailing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smooth%20sailing
“smooth sailing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smooth%20sailing. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smooth sailing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smooth%20sailing.
Source: smooth sailing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.