🗂️ A type or kind 🔷 Shape or structure 📄 A document 👥 To create a group ☁️ To take shape 🦠 A variant group 👐 To make or shape 🏅 Performance level 🌊 To make up 🧠 To establish 🔤 Word shape 👩‍🎓 A student group 🧍 A mannequin 🧱 A mold or frame

form

107 4.0

A person or team's current ability to perform well, especially in sports

noun
/fɔrm/

: forma

When Fabio Capello swept into Soho Square, he made it clear he had little time for sentimentality, saying players would be picked on form and fitness, not star status.
in good form
in bad form

It's like sometimes when you've been out of form for so long, right?

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Examples

We just want you at the top of your form for the next big account.

Fiction book (1995)
He's in great form this season, is he?
It's like sometimes when you've been out of form for so long, right?

Rio Ferdinand Presents
The veterans are starting to play back to form, and the rookies are developing faster than I thought.

Major League (1989)
Lauda's starting to find the form that early in this race we believed he'd lost!

Rush (2013)
He has really been in tip-top form this year, hasn't he, Jason?

Challengers (2024)
After months of training, the athlete is finally in form and ready for the competition.
The coach said that the team has shown much improvement and is currently in excellent form.
With their star player back, the team is once again in good form, predicting a successful season ahead.

Synonyms

ability

vsform

∞ 1.0

Skill or power to do something

describes the present level of doing well rather than general capacity

performance

vsform

637 2.5

How well a person does a task or job

describes the current level of skill rather than a single result

Antonyms

decline

439 3.9

A gradual loss in amount, quality, or value

Idioms

true to form

Informal

9 4.1

Happening or acting in the usual way as before

in rare form

Informal

4 7.6

Doing something much better than usual with extra energy

in no way, shape, or form

3 5.6

It is not true or possible in any way

to return to form

1 4.6

Get back to a previous good level of ability after a time of decline

Compounds

life form

127 2.8

A plant, an animal, or a tiny organism

art form

55 3.2

A particular type of art, like music, painting, or dance

life form

Specialized

37 3.4

The physical shape and parts of a plant or animal

tax form

Formal

12 2.8

An official paper you use to tell the government how much money you earn and owe in tax

application form

8 2.0

A document with questions to fill in when you apply for a job or a course

order form

6 2.0

A printed or online page you fill to ask for goods and services

form letter

5 3.2

A letter sent to many people with the same text

requisition form

Formal

4 4.1

An official paper you use to ask for supplies or services from an organization

claim form

Formal

3 2.9

A document you fill in to ask for money back from an insurance company

good form

3 4.9

Polite behavior people expect in social situations

free-form

2 5.3

A work that does not follow fixed rules or structure

form of address

1 3.4

A way of speaking used when you talk to someone to show their title or relationship

free form

Specialized

1 6.5

A small part of language that can be a whole word

plural form

1 1.6

A change in a word that shows more than one person or thing

citation form

Texting

1 7.5

The basic form of a word that a dictionary lists

verse form

Literature

1 7.0

A type of poem with a set number of lines and rhythm like a sonnet or haiku

bound form

Specialized

9.6

A small part added to a word that cannot stand alone, like -s in cats and -ed in walked

combining form

Specialized

8.1

A small word part from Greek or Latin that appears only inside longer words

baking form

2.6

A pan that holds batter or dough while it bakes

form book

Jargon

6.7

A record of past results and details about competitors that helps people decide bets

form class

Specialized

6.9

A group of words that do the same job in grammar, like a noun or verb

form division

Archaic

9.9

An old artificial group that scientists used to sort plants

form family

Specialized

9.9

A temporary group scientists use for plants or animals when it is not clear how they are related

form genus Rhizoctinia

Specialized

9.9

A group name for fungi seen only in their non-sexual stage, often causing plant disease

form genus

Specialized

9.9

A temporary group for living things, often fossils, whose relations to others are unclear

leaf form

5.6

The shape of a plant leaf that helps identify species

major form class

Specialized

7.7

A main group of words like nouns, verbs, and adjectives that show a word's role in a sentence

imperative form

Specialized

4.4

A verb form used to give a command or request

plural form

Specialized

3.7

One translation used for different numbers, like one or many

telegraph form

Archaic

8.2

A printed form you use to write a telegram

singular form

Specialized

1.8

The form of a word used for one person or thing

sonata form

Specialized

8.6

A musical pattern with three main parts used at the start of many symphonies and sonatas

word form

Specialized

4.1

A written or spoken version of a word showing its grammar and sound

Surface Forms

form singular

forms plural

Etymology

Form comes from the Latin forma 'shape', so when someone is 'in good form' it means they are in good 'shape' or condition and can perform well.