Meanings
- colloquialRunning or performing extremely smoothly.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, groove.
[…] having such a wonderful time which puts me in a groove […]
1932 Oct., Melody Maker, p. 8362 more examples
The whole course of legislation... had flowed in the same groove for centuries.
1869, J.E.T. Rogers's preface to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, Vol. I, p. 27There's a time in everybody's life when they know precisely what is right. And when I was doing that, when I was in the groove, I knew exactly what was right.
2005, Joe McCabe, Hanging Out With the Dream King: Conversations with Neil Gaiman, page 77Synonyms: in the pocket, in the zone
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, groove.
Origin
Originally slang that first appeared in the mid-19th century with a (usually pejorative) reference to the difficulty of leaving a well-worn rut (see in a rut). As back in the groove, the phrase acquired a positive sense of returning to one's usual self after a period of illness, setbacks, etc. With special regard for music, originally US jazz slang from the 1920s, possibly with reference to the grooves of early records.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
in the groove. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20groove
“in the groove.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20groove. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in the groove,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20groove.
Source: in the groove on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.