Meaning & use
going swimmingly
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Meaning
phrasefixed phraseinformal
Progressing very well, with no problems or difficulties.
Grammar: Used after verbs like be, go, or proceed, with the subject being the activity or situation: The talks are going swimmingly.
Patterns
- something is going swimmingly
- something goes swimmingly
- going swimmingly for someone
The wedding preparations are going swimmingly, and we have almost everything ready.
My first week at the new job went swimmingly until I lost my laptop charger.
The negotiations were going swimmingly until the two sides disagreed about payment.
Common combinations
- things are going swimmingly
- Things are going swimmingly at the moment, so we should finish early.
- go swimmingly for someone
- The interview went swimmingly for Maya, and she was offered the job.
- get on swimmingly
- The children got on swimmingly from the first day of camp.
- everything is going swimmingly
- Everything is going swimmingly with the new project.
Synonyms and how they differ
- smoothly
- Smoothly is more neutral and common in both formal and informal contexts; going swimmingly is more informal and suggests cheerful success.
- well
- Well is the general word for doing something successfully; going swimmingly is stronger and more vivid, and usually describes an ongoing situation.
- like clockwork
- Like clockwork emphasizes regular, reliable progress with no delays, while going swimmingly emphasizes lack of trouble and a positive feeling.
Opposites
Commonly confused: going swimmingly or swimmingly?
going swimmingly vs swimmingly
Swimmingly is the adverb alone, meaning 'very well'; going swimmingly is the full phrase with go and is used about situations, not people.
Practice
The launch of the new app ______ swimmingly, and the team celebrated.
Choose one answer.
The simple past 'went' fits a completed event in the past: the launch went swimmingly. 'Was going' suggests an ongoing action interrupted, which does not fit the completed celebration. 'Goes' is present simple and would describe a habit, not a single past launch. 'Has gone' is present perfect and would need a present result, but the sentence is about a finished past event.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “going swimmingly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.