in one's element

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Idioms and Phrases

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 .

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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