List of the most useful 150+ English Collocations with their meanings and Sentences

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List of common English collocations with their meanings and example sentences
Sr. No.	Collocation	Meaning	Example Sentence
1	Make a decision	To choose or decide	“I need to make a decision about which job to accept.”
2	Take a break	To stop an activity temporarily	“Let’s take a break after working for three hours.”
3	Catch a cold	To become sick with a cold	“He caught a cold after being out in the rain.”
4	Break the law	To disobey or violate legal rules	“If you break the law, there are consequences.”
5	Do homework	To complete school assignments	“She usually does her homework right after school.”
6	Pay attention	To focus or listen carefully	“Please pay attention to the teacher’s instructions.”
7	Save time	To use less time on something	“Using a dishwasher saves time when cleaning up.”
8	Lose weight	To reduce body weight	“She started exercising regularly to lose weight.”
9	Tell the truth	To speak honestly	“It’s important to always tell the truth.”
10	Keep a promise	To fulfill a commitment	“He always keeps his promises, no matter what.”
11	Run a business	To manage or operate a company	“She decided to run a business after years of planning.”
12	Give advice	To offer suggestions or recommendations	“The counselor gave her advice on career choices.”
13	Meet expectations	To fulfill what is hoped or required	“He worked hard to meet his manager’s expectations.”
14	Make a mistake	To do something wrong	“Everyone makes mistakes; it’s part of learning.”
15	Take responsibility	To accept accountability	“You need to take responsibility for your actions.”
16	Set a goal	To establish a target or aim	“He set a goal to read one book every month.”
17	Gain experience	To acquire knowledge or skill	“Internships help students gain experience in their field.”
18	Make an effort	To try hard to achieve something	“She made an effort to improve her writing skills.”
19	Come to an agreement	To reach a mutual decision or understanding	“They finally came to an agreement after hours of discussion.”
20	Raise awareness	To increase public knowledge on a topic	“The campaign aims to raise awareness about climate change.”
21	Give permission	To allow someone to do something	“Her parents gave her permission to go on the trip.”
22	Keep in mind	To remember or consider	“Keep in mind that the deadline is next week.”
23	Have fun	To enjoy oneself	“We’re here to have fun, so let’s enjoy the party!”
24	Do research	To gather information on a topic	“She did research before starting her project.”
25	Make progress	To advance or improve	“He made significant progress on his novel last month.”
26	Catch attention	To attract notice	“The colorful ad caught her attention immediately.”
27	Put effort	To invest energy in doing something	“He put a lot of effort into completing the painting.”
28	Lose interest	To stop being interested	“She began to lose interest in the hobby after a while.”
29	Keep a secret	To not disclose confidential information	“He promised to keep her secret no matter what.”
30	Run late	To be delayed	“I’m running late, so I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”
31	Make an impression	To create an impact or be memorable	“Her speech made a strong impression on the audience.”
32	Bear in mind	To remember or consider something	“Bear in mind that results may vary for each person.”
33	Take a risk	To do something that involves danger	“He decided to take a risk and start his own company.”
34	Hold a meeting	To organize or conduct a gathering	“We’ll hold a meeting to discuss the project details.”
35	Get rid of	To remove or discard	“He decided to get rid of old clothes he no longer wears.”
36	Find a solution	To discover a way to solve a problem	“They worked together to find a solution to the issue.”
37	Make a call	To place a phone call	“I’ll make a call to confirm the reservation.”
38	Gain confidence	To build self-assurance	“With practice, she gained confidence in public speaking.”
39	Take control	To assume command or direction	“He took control of the project to ensure its success.”
40	Make an offer	To propose something, often in business	“They decided to make an offer on the house.”
41	Catch a glimpse	To see briefly or partially	“She caught a glimpse of the celebrity at the event.”
42	Run errands	To complete small tasks or chores	“I spent the morning running errands around town.”
43	Break a habit	To stop a routine behavior	“It took effort to break the habit of checking her phone constantly.”
44	Have a conversation	To talk with someone	“They had a conversation about future plans.”
45	Give credit	To acknowledge someone’s contribution	“She gave credit to her team for their hard work.”
46	Make a difference	To have an impact	“Volunteering can really make a difference in the community.”
47	Come prepared	To arrive with everything needed	“It’s important to come prepared for the presentation.”
48	Hold a grudge	To stay resentful	“He still holds a grudge about the argument they had.”
49	Get the job done	To complete a task successfully	“He focused and got the job done on time.”
50	Do damage	To cause harm or injury	“The storm did significant damage to the building.”
51	Make arrangements	To organize plans	“She made arrangements for her trip next month.”
52	Take a chance	To risk something	“He decided to take a chance and apply for his dream job.”
53	Pay a visit	To visit someone or someplace	“We decided to pay a visit to our grandparents this weekend.”
54	Tell a story	To narrate an experience or event	“She loves telling stories about her travels.”
55	Keep in touch	To stay in contact	“Let’s keep in touch after the conference.”
56	Give permission	To allow someone to do something	“The teacher gave permission to use the library resources.”
57	Run smoothly	To operate without issues	“The event ran smoothly, thanks to good planning.”
58	Make a plan	To create a strategy or arrangement	“It’s time to make a plan for the upcoming project.”
59	Set a deadline	To determine a due date	“They set a deadline to finish the work by Friday.”
60	Make a complaint	To express dissatisfaction	“He made a complaint about the service at the restaurant.”
61	Get in shape	To improve physical fitness	“She started exercising regularly to get in shape.”
62	Hold a conversation	To engage in a discussion	“He struggled to hold a conversation due to his shyness.”
63	Come into effect	To start being applied or enforced	“The new policy will come into effect next month.”
64	Face a challenge	To confront a difficult situation	“She faced a challenge when starting her new business.”
65	Keep a record	To document or write something down	“The scientist kept a record of all the data.”
66	Take notes	To write down important information	“During the lecture, she took detailed notes.”
67	Lose patience	To become annoyed or frustrated	“He began to lose patience after waiting for an hour.”
68	Make a list	To write a sequence of items	“She made a list of all the items to buy at the store.”
69	Gain insight	To understand deeply	“The book helped him gain insight into history.”
70	Take action	To do something to achieve a result	“It’s time to take action against climate change.”
71	Ask for help	To request assistance	“She wasn’t afraid to ask for help when needed.”
72	Keep an eye on	To watch or monitor carefully	“Please keep an eye on the soup so it doesn’t burn.”
73	Make an excuse	To give a reason to justify something	“He made an excuse for being late to the meeting.”
74	Reach an agreement	To come to a mutual decision	“After hours of discussion, they reached an agreement.”
75	Give someone a hand	To help someone	“He gave his friend a hand with moving furniture.”
76	Draw a conclusion	To infer or decide based on evidence	“She drew a conclusion from the data collected.”
77	Express interest	To show curiosity or concern	“He expressed interest in joining the team.”
78	Keep quiet	To remain silent	“She decided to keep quiet about her concerns.”
79	Get involved	To participate or engage	“She wanted to get involved in community service.”
80	Take advantage	To use something for benefit	“He took advantage of the sunny weather to go hiking.”
81	Make an appointment	To schedule a meeting	“She made an appointment with her doctor for next week.”
82	Lose track	To forget or lose awareness	“He lost track of time while working on his project.”
83	Get permission	To receive approval to do something	“You’ll need to get permission to use the equipment.”
84	Make an effort	To try hard to accomplish something	“He made an effort to be more organized this year.”
85	Do your best	To put in maximum effort	“All you can do is try your best on the exam.”
86	Take into account	To consider something in decision-making	“They took weather conditions into account when planning the event.”
87	Run a risk	To face potential danger or harm	“Investors run a risk when putting money into new businesses.”
88	Make an exception	To allow something that is usually not allowed	“They made an exception for her special case.”
89	Hold your breath	To pause breathing, often in suspense	“She held her breath as she awaited the results.”
90	Catch fire	To start burning	“The old papers caught fire accidentally in the sun.”
91	Keep a diary	To write regularly about daily life	“She keeps a diary to remember her daily experiences.”
92	Bear responsibility	To be accountable	“Managers bear responsibility for their teams’ performance.”
93	Tell the difference	To distinguish between two things	“It’s hard to tell the difference between identical twins.”
94	Make a profit	To earn more than spent	“The company made a profit in its first year of business.”
95	Find your way	To navigate or figure out a path	“With the map, they were able to find their way through the forest.”
96	Get the message	To understand the point being made	“After the reminder, he finally got the message.”
97	Draw attention	To attract notice or focus	“The artist’s work drew attention from across the room.”
98	Break a record	To set a new high level or achievement	“She broke the record for fastest runner in the school.”
99	Give someone a call	To phone someone	“I’ll give you a call later to confirm the details.”
100	Reach a compromise	To come to an agreement through concessions	“They reached a compromise on the contract terms.”
101	Take a stroll	To go for a leisurely walk	“After dinner, they decided to take a stroll around the park.”
102	Keep the change	To not return the remainder of money	“After paying, he told the waiter to keep the change.”
103	Raise a question	To bring up an issue or topic for discussion	“During the meeting, she raised a question about deadlines.”
104	Get a refund	To receive money back after a purchase	“The store’s policy allowed her to get a refund.”
105	Keep an open mind	To stay receptive to new ideas or suggestions	“He tried to keep an open mind about the new proposal.”
106	Face the truth	To confront reality	“It’s time to face the truth about the situation.”
107	Make a recovery	To get better after an illness or setback	“He made a full recovery after the surgery.”
108	Fall asleep	To start sleeping	“She fell asleep quickly after the long day.”
109	Earn respect	To gain admiration through actions	“Over time, he earned respect from his peers.”
110	Keep pace	To stay in sync with someone or something	“She kept pace with her training partner during the run.”
111	Take a photo	To capture an image with a camera	“He took a photo of the beautiful sunset.”
112	Break a tie	To end an equal score or standing	“The final match will break the tie between the teams.”
113	Hit the road	To leave or start a journey	“After packing, they were ready to hit the road.”
114	Make a reservation	To book a spot or place in advance	“She made a reservation at the new restaurant downtown.”
115	Give it a try	To attempt something	“I’ve never cooked this dish, but I’ll give it a try.”
116	Bear in mind	To remember something important	“Bear in mind that it might rain tomorrow.”
117	Get dressed	To put on clothes	“He quickly got dressed for work in the morning.”
118	Put in effort	To apply oneself diligently to a task	“She put in effort to finish the project ahead of time.”
119	Hold a position	To maintain a role or job	“He’s held a position in the company for over ten years.”
120	Make a confession	To admit something, often private	“He made a confession about his mistake.”
121	Get the hang of	To learn or master something	“After a few tries, she got the hang of knitting.”
122	Take turns	To alternate doing something	“They took turns driving on the road trip.”
123	Break the news	To announce important information	“She didn’t know how to break the news to her family.”
124	Keep a low profile	To avoid attention or publicity	“He decided to keep a low profile during the event.”
125	Get the impression	To form an opinion or feeling about something	“He got the impression that she wasn’t interested.”
126	Set a target	To establish a goal to achieve	“The team set a target to increase sales by 20%.”
127	Take a seat	To sit down	“Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable.”
128	Do the dishes	To wash the plates, cups, and utensils	“I’ll do the dishes after dinner.”
129	Get the ball rolling	To start something, usually a process	“Let’s get the ball rolling on the new project.”
130	Give it some thought	To consider or think carefully	“I’ll give it some thought before making a decision.”
131	Make an appearance	To show up or be present	“The actor made an appearance at the premiere.”
132	Take notes	To write down important points	“During the lecture, she took detailed notes.”
133	Catch a bus	To get on a bus	“If we hurry, we can catch the next bus downtown.”
134	Get along with	To have a friendly relationship with someone	“She gets along well with her new coworkers.”
135	Make amends	To correct a wrongdoing	“He apologized and tried to make amends with his friend.”
136	Set an example	To act as a role model	“Teachers are expected to set an example for students.”
137	Go bankrupt	To be financially insolvent	“The company went bankrupt due to poor management.”
138	Keep a secret	To not tell confidential information	“She promised to keep his secret.”
139	Run a fever	To have a high body temperature	“He ran a fever all night due to the flu.”
140	Hold a grudge	To stay resentful over something	“She tends to hold a grudge when people are unfair.”
141	Make a fuss	To complain or create a scene	“He made a fuss about the slow service.”
142	Catch one’s breath	To pause and recover from physical exertion	“After the sprint, she stopped to catch her breath.”
143	Keep an eye on	To watch over something carefully	“Can you keep an eye on the baby while I cook?”
144	Make a living	To earn enough money for basic needs	“She makes a living as a freelance writer.”
145	Draw a blank	To fail to recall or think of something	“When asked about the details, he drew a blank.”
146	Take sides	To support one of two opposing parties	“In an argument, he never takes sides.”
147	Lose your temper	To become very angry	“She lost her temper during the stressful meeting.”
148	Keep a straight face	To avoid showing emotions, usually humor	“He struggled to keep a straight face during the joke.”
149	Get in touch	To contact or communicate with someone	“I’ll get in touch with you once I arrive.”
150	Run a test	To perform an examination or trial	“The technician will run a test to check for issues.”
151	Make a wish	To express a desire or hope	“She made a wish before blowing out the candles.”
152	Play a role	To have a particular function or effect	“Education plays a crucial role in development.”
153	Come to mind	To suddenly think of something	“An idea just came to mind for the project.”
154	Give someone a break	To allow someone a rest or pardon	“Give her a break; she’s been working hard.”
155	Make a scene	To create a dramatic or loud public display	“He made a scene at the restaurant over a small error.”
156	Break the ice	To initiate conversation in a social setting	“He told a joke to break the ice at the party.”
157	Put effort into	To dedicate energy or focus to something	“She put a lot of effort into her presentation.”
158	Take into consideration	To keep in mind when deciding	“They took weather conditions into consideration for the event.”
159	Make a statement	To express an opinion or belief strongly	“Her bold outfit made a fashion statement.”
160	Turn a profit	To earn more than the amount spent	“The business finally turned a profit this year.”
161	Get the green light	To receive permission to start something	“They got the green light to begin the construction project.”
162	Make a list	To write down items in sequence	“She made a list of tasks to complete by the weekend.”
163	Catch up	To reach the same level or position	“He studied all night to catch up on his assignments.”
164	Go out of business	To shut down or close a company	“The store went out of business after 20 years.”
165	Take action	To do something to achieve an effect	“The government needs to take action on climate change.”
166	Make an exception	To allow something outside of usual rules	“They made an exception for him because he was a top student.”
167	Find your feet	To adapt to a new situation	“It took a few months to find his feet in the new job.”
168	Keep track of	To monitor or stay informed	“She keeps track of her expenses carefully.”
169	Have a look	To glance or examine	“Take a look at the report before the meeting.”
170	Run short of	To have nearly exhausted a supply	“They ran short of paper during the project.”
171	Bring up a topic	To introduce something for discussion	“She brought up an interesting topic in class.”
172	Put on hold	To pause or delay action	“They put the project on hold due to budget issues.”
173	Keep in check	To control or limit something	“They managed to keep expenses in check this quarter.”
174	Raise a concern	To express worry about an issue	“He raised a concern about the safety of the equipment.”
175	Go hand in hand	To naturally fit or complement each other	“Exercise and good health go hand in hand.”