in form

See also: inform and inform.

English

Prepositional phrase

in form

1. As a matter of form; formally.
   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LXXXV”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC:

     [I]t was unlikely, he says, that he could procure, in the time, a letter from Lady Betty, under her own hand, to invite me in form to her house […].

   • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XIV, in Emma: […], volume II, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:

     [C]uriosity could not be satisfied by a bride in a pew, and it must be left for the visits in form which were then to be paid, to settle whether she were very pretty indeed, or only rather pretty, or not pretty at all.

2. Having good form; fit, performing well.
   • 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     Manchester United's in-form striker rose to head home Stewart Downing's corner and then rounded off a sweeping counter-attack involving Theo Walcott and Ashley Young to wrap up the formalities seconds before the break.

Anagrams

• -formin, F minor, Morfin, formin