even keel
5
5.3
- noun
- Informal
:
estabilidad
- It'll keep us on an even keel for a while.
I gifted them to them and paid the hefty tax bills between me and and Paul and we got it back onto an even keel.
- I gifted them to them and paid the hefty tax bills between me and and Paul and we got it back onto an even keel.
- So, you know, now things are back on on an even keel after all this tragedy.
- And what else that's about that that kind of keeps things on an even keel most of the time.
- So both sides, you can see, have made an effort to keep the relationship on an even keel.
- And so there's a a more even keel in the moment I'm present and I experience.
- No, I mean it's just it's that even keel all the way through pre op on the OP post op it's just even keel.
Examples
-
Meanwhile, Chinese policymakers are also making great efforts to keep relations on an even keel.
Academic text (2005) -
So for now, I'm happy to have my life on an even keel, because I am an adult, and I refuse to live from crisis to crisis.
-
You know, to keep things on an even keel, right?
-
Well, I expect that some people do it to keep things on an even keel.
-
By the time I got to the office, I was on a pretty even keel.
Fiction book (1994) -
Still, she was part of his team and he wanted to keep things on an even keel.
Fiction book (1991) -
"When I was here on Tuesday, I told you my life was on an even keel and rather wonderful these days.
Fiction book (1996) -
These two kept her on an even keel.
Fiction book (1991) -
Instead, American-Australian relations were put on an even keel.
Academic text (1998) -
After the chaotic event, the team needed to find their even keel to move forward effectively.
Synonyms
52
1.0
A quiet, peaceful feeling that helps you stay steady
3
4.3
In a steady, calm state and working smoothly
1
8.2
In a stable state after problems
Antonyms
How Stable
363
3.1
35
6.8
- Informal
5
5.3
5
4.8
114
5.1
- Specialized
7
6.3
438
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'even' (level) with 'keel' (the ship's longitudinal plate), so the literal image of a ship riding level naturally extends to the idea of stability or balance. However, this is a metaphorical/nautical extension rather than a fully productive everyday composition, so the meaning is partly inferable but not completely predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The expression even keel comes from old sailors. On a ship the keel is the heavy piece along the bottom that keeps the boat level, so when the keel is even the ship does not tilt and feels steady, which is why the phrase now means 'calm' or 'stable'.