in (one's) element

in (one's) element

In the state of doing something that one is very comfortable with or proficient in. My mother is in her element in the kitchen and can make just about any dish. Look how effortlessly she skates. You can tell she's in her element.See also: element

in one's element

Fig. in a natural or comfortable situation or environment. Sally is in her element when she's working with algebra or calculus. Bob loves to work with color and texture. When he's painting, he's in his element.See also: element

in one's element

In an environment naturally suited to or associated with one; doing what one enjoys. For example, He's in his element when he's doing woodworking. This term alludes to one's natural abode, as does the antonym, out of one's element (used by Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe, 1719: "When they came to make boards ... they were quite out of their element"). [Late 1500s] Also see in one's glory. See also: element

in your element

COMMON If you are in your element, you are doing something that you enjoy and do well. My stepmother was in her element, organizing everything. `The sale will now commence. We will proceed in steps of two hundred thousand,' declared Bunbury, who was in his element. Note: You can say that someone is out of their element when they are doing something that they do not enjoy and do not do well. He stayed in the trade eight years, but was bored by the work and felt out of his element. As I hadn't done much cooking recently I felt a bit out of my element in the kitchen. Note: Ancient and medieval philosophers believed that all substances were composed from the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. To be `in your element' is to be in your natural surroundings, like a bird in air or a fish in water. See also: element

in (or out of) your element

in (or out of) your accustomed or preferred environment, where you feel confident and at ease, often in performing a particular activity.See also: element

in your ˈelement

doing something that you enjoy and do well, especially with other similar people: Julie is in her element with anything mechanical. She just loves fixing things.See also: element

in one's element

In one’s natural or most comfortable surroundings or occupation; happily situated. The Elizabethans were much concerned with the four elements—earth, water, air, and fire—and regarded these as the proper abode of both living creatures and inanimate objects. By Shakespeare’s time the terms were used figuratively as well, so that he could write, “Down, thou climbing sorrow! Thy element’s below” (King Lear, 1.4). To be out of one’s element, like a fish out of water, was also possible. “He is as much out of his Element, as an Eel in a Sandbag,” wrote Thomas Fuller (Gnomologia, 1732).See also: element