Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

ease

2 verb
     
ease2
1

improve

[intransitive and transitive] if something unpleasant eases, or if you ease it, it gradually improves or becomes less
ease the pain/stress/tension
He'll give you something to ease the pain.
ease the pressure/burden
This should ease the burden on busy teachers.
measures to ease congestion in the city
Her breathing had eased.
2

make easier

[transitive] to make a process, happen more easily [= smooth]:
The agreement will ease the way for other countries to join the EU.
3

move

[intransitive,transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move yourself or something slowly and carefully into another place or position:
She eased her shoes off.
ease yourself into/through etc something
He eased himself into a chair.
ease your way past/through etc something
He eased his way through the crowd.
Jean eased back on the pillows and relaxed.
4

ease your grip

to hold something less tightly
5

ease somebody's mind

to make someone feel less worried about something:
It would ease my mind to know you had arrived safely.

ease (somebody) into something

phrasal verb
if you ease yourself or someone else into a new job etc, you start doing it gradually or help them to start:
After the baby, she eased herself back into work.

ease off

phrasal verb
1 if something, especially something that you do not like, eases off, it improves or gets less [= ease up]:
The rain had eased off a bit.
Why don't you wait until the traffic eases off a little?
2

ease off on somebody

to stop being unpleasant to someone or asking so much from them

ease out

phrasal verb
1TTC if a vehicle eases out, it slowly moves forward into the traffic
2

ease somebody ↔ out

to make someone leave a job, a position of authority etc, in a way that makes it seem as if they have chosen to leave

ease up

phrasal verb
1 to work less hard or do something with less energy than before:
Just relax and ease up a little.
2 to start doing something less
ease up on
You should ease up on the whisky.
3 to improve or get less [= ease off]:
The snow was easing up.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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