in the groove

1. Performing very well, excellent; also, in fashion, up-to-date. For example, The band was slowly getting in the groove, or To be in the groove this year you'll have to get a fake fur coat. This idiom originally alluded to running accurately in a channel, or groove. It was taken up by jazz musicians in the 1920s and later began to be used more loosely. A variant, back in the groove, means “returning to one's old self,” as in He was very ill but now he's back in the groove. [Slang; mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

When Higgins took the fifth frame with a break of 111, the former world champion looked to be in the groove.

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I was just trying to get back in the groove of Sabrina Claudio, quote-unquote, because I was just coming out of writing for everybody else.

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Norman Powell got back in the groove, scoring 14 points.

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Aside from seasoned quarterback Matthew Stafford, they are a pretty young team and their offense has struggled at times to get in the groove.

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Not just because of the July’s battering that depleted their numbers so much, but because the Conservatives have been in the groove of attacking each other for many years now.

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Related Words

• adaptable 
• appropriate 
• consistent 
• suitable