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Synonyms

in the groove

Idioms  

  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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Try to keep your email and messaging apps shut off until at least noon, so you get in the groove of your own work before checking for anything urgent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

The American saw off two break points in her opening service game but quickly got in the groove, pounding relentless baseline groundstrokes to quickly open up a 4-0 lead.

From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026

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

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025

With pop acts like Taylor Swift cutting multiple editions of LPs and pricy back-catalog reissues, Fidelity pressing plant in Oxnard says it is ready to help the vinyl boom stay in the groove.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2024

One day, I was shooting my fourth set of one hundred shots and I was really in the groove.

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.