Happily means in a happy way, with joy or pleasure. When you skip happily down the street after getting good news, you're moving with visible delight. When someone lives happily in their new home, they feel content and satisfied there.

The word describes both the inner feeling of happiness and its outward expression through your actions, expressions, or the way you do things. A dog greets its owner happily by wagging its tail and jumping around. You might sing happily while doing chores you enjoy, or work happily on a project that interests you.

Happily can also mean fortunately or luckily, as in: “The lost wallet was happily returned to its owner.” This usage means something good happened that could have gone badly.

In fairy tales, you'll often see “they lived happily ever after,” meaning the characters spent the rest of their lives in contentment and joy. While real life has ups and downs that fairy tales skip over, the phrase captures the idea of lasting happiness and satisfaction.