at ease
"at-ease" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“at ease” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Free of anxiety; not stressed or tense.
Corpus desk
Index EN-at-ease · at ease · English
at ease · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | at ease |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “at ease” in English
Rare enough to double-check
at ease is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for at ease, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English at ese, calque of Old French a eise, from a (“at”) + eise (“ease”). The correct English form is at ease, spelled A-T- -E-A-S-E.
Definition
- 1Free of anxiety; not stressed or tense.
- 2In a relaxed position with the feet apart rather than at attention.
- 3Allowed to refrain from being in rigid formation.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how at ease appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
At this command, the soldiers will carry their firelocks as they please, as prescribed in the soldier's drill, No 120, and are no longer required to march with the same step, or to observe silence ; the files will march at ease ; but they will be careful not to confuse the ranks, and the front rank must never pass before the guide, who is on the directing…
If the column be composed of a considerable number of battalions, the commander can march it at ease, as a column of route.
Etymology
From Middle English at ese, calque of Old French a eise, from a (“at”) + eise (“ease”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.