form
Preserved but no longer current.
Condition, training. "In good FORM" or "in bad FORM" refers to a man’s or horse’s state of being in the sporting world. FORM has also had a moral significance of late years, and with the qualifying adjectives attached as occasion requires, is extensively used in general conversation. As, "It was bad FORM of Brown to do that." "That article was bad FORM." In the latter cases the word "in" rarely appears.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “form” mean?
Condition, training. "In good FORM" or "in bad FORM" refers to a man’s or horse’s state of being in the sporting world. FORM has also had a moral significance of late years, and with the qualifying adjectives attached as occasion requires, is extensively used in general conversation. As, "It was bad FORM of Brown to do that." "That article was bad FORM." In the latter cases the word "in" rarely appears.
Is “form” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.