to return to form
- idiom
- After a slow start to the season, the star player finally returned to form and scored two goals in the last match.
- return to form with defense
- returned to form in game
Examples
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The Spartan throwers returned to form by sweeping the top three spots in the weight throw.
Blog text (1) -
After months of training, she was excited to return to form and compete in the upcoming marathon.
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What surprised me, however, was how quickly he returned to form, and fine form at that.
Blog text (1) -
So, barely six months later, she was returning to form.
Fiction book (2001) -
They have not yet returned to form.
Blog text (11) -
Having been broken once, Serena quickly returned to form, winning sixteen of the match's final twenty-two points.
Blog text (33) -
Once Rose returns to form, Wade fully expects Chicago to ascend back to one of the NBA's elite teams, and he's ready for the challenge of trying to fend them off.
Blog text (22) -
RB D.J. Foster vs. LB Cyrus Coen: ASU's best offensive playmaker has been quiet in recent weeks, and the team will need him to return to form both on the ground and through the air.
Blog text (10) -
The optimist can have faith that ace CC Sabathia will return to form and that the reliable Hiroki Kuroda might even resemble the pitcher he was for a time in July and August, when he posted a 1.39 ERA over the span of seven starts.
Blog text (24) -
Following her injury, it took some time, but he managed to return to form and perform at his best again.
Synonyms
Get back to a normal state after a loss, for example health or money
Get better quickly after an illness, problem, or setback
To get back to normal after a problem
To become popular or successful again after a time away
Returned to taking part after being away or having problems
To get better after being ill, injured, or very tired
Become successful or active again after a long time away
To become fit again after not exercising or being unwell
Able to work well again after a break
Antonyms
How Well
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from 'return' (go back) + 'to' (toward) + 'form' (state/condition or performance), so it literally means to go back to a previous state of performance. This compositional pattern is common in English (and has parallels in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrase return to form comes from the image of someone getting back to their old form or shape after a poor period, like a player who trains until they play as well as before. So, it means 'regain skill' or 'get back to a high level of performance'.