Meaning
Stable, calm, and functioning normally, especially after a period of disturbance or upset. Used of people, moods, finances, organizations, and relationships, most often in the pattern 'get life back on an even keel'. Neutral, mildly reassuring register with no marked regional restriction. Neutral and reassuring in tone; extremely common in journalism and everyday speech. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The keel is a ship's backbone, the structural member running along the bottom of the hull. A vessel on an even keel floats level, drawing the same depth of water forward and aft rather than pitching or listing; William Falconer's Universal Dictionary of the Marine (first published 1769; the 1780 corrected edition consulted) defines 'upon an even keel' as the keel lying parallel to the horizon, the ship equally deep in the water at both ends. Royal Museums Greenwich treats it as a straightforward ship-stability term now used for anything steady and predictable. The figurative sense, of affairs calm and settled, was established by the nineteenth century, though freely available reference works give no firm first citation for it, so that date should be treated as approximate.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- back on an even keel
- even-keeled
- on a level keel
- upon an even keel
Usage Examples
- A few months of steady work put her finances back on an even keel after the divorce.
- The school stayed on an even keel through the renovations by moving classes to the annex.
- Doctors adjusted her medication until her mood settled on an even keel.