A collocation is a combination of words that naturally go together in English. Native speakers instinctively choose these combinations - they sound “right” even though the individual words could pair differently.
✓ make a decision ✗ do a decision
✓ heavy rain ✗ strong rain
✓ fast food ✗ quick food
Unlike idioms, collocations are literal - the meaning is clear from the individual words. The challenge is knowing which words go together. You can guess what “heavy rain” means, but you need to know that English doesn't say “strong rain”.
Collocations (make a decision, heavy traffic) - literal meaning, but the word combination is fixed. The focus is on which words pair naturally.
Idioms (break the ice, spill the beans) - non-literal meaning. You can't guess the meaning from the words. These have their own dedicated page on this site.
Phrasal verbs (give up, look after) - verb + particle combinations where the particle changes the verb's meaning. Also covered separately.
Key insight: Collocations are about naturalness. A non-native speaker might say “do a mistake” and be understood, but it sounds wrong to native ears. Learning collocations is what makes your English sound polished.
Collocations are grouped by the grammatical pattern of the words involved. Here are the five main types covered on this site:
The most common type. A specific verb pairs with a noun.
make a mistake · take a photo · pay attention
A particular adjective naturally modifies a noun.
heavy traffic · strong coffee · bitter cold
An adverb intensifies or modifies an adjective.
deeply concerned · highly unlikely · perfectly clear
An adverb modifies a verb in a fixed way.
strongly recommend · firmly believe · flatly refuse
Two nouns combine as a fixed pair or compound.
traffic jam · bus stop · income tax
Collocations are the difference between correct English and natural English. At B2 and above, the grammar is mostly there - but word choice still sounds off. That's collocations.
Native speakers don't think about collocations - they just feel right. When you use them correctly, your English sounds effortless rather than translated.
Cambridge B2, C1, and C2 exams test collocations heavily, especially in Part 1 (multiple choice) and Part 4 (key word transformations). The wrong collocation costs marks even when the meaning is clear.
There's no rule that explains why we say make a decision but take a risk. Why heavy rain but strong wind? Why deeply concerned but highly unlikely? You have to learn them as fixed combinations.
L1 interference: Your first language has its own collocations, and they rarely translate directly. Spanish speakers say do a question (hacer una pregunta) instead of ask a question. These errors are hard to spot because they feel natural in your language.
Not all collocations are equally fixed. Some are strong (nearly impossible to change), while others are weak (more flexible).
These are virtually fixed. The words almost always appear together, and substituting a synonym sounds wrong:
make a decision (not do a decision)
heavy rain (not big rain)
bitterly disappointed (not strongly disappointed)
These are more flexible - several words can fit, though one or two are preferred:
a big / large / huge / great improvement
very / extremely / really happy
Focus your energy on strong collocations. These are the ones that sound noticeably wrong when you get them wrong, and they're the ones exams test.
Most collocation errors come from three sources:
✗ do a mistake → ✓ make a mistake
✗ say a lie → ✓ tell a lie
✗ win money → ✓ earn / make money
✗ do a decision → ✓ make a decision
✗ make homework → ✓ do homework
✗ make an exam → ✓ take / sit an exam
✗ very recommend → ✓ strongly / highly recommend
✗ strongly different → ✓ completely / totally different
When you learn a new noun, learn the verb or adjective that goes with it. Don't just write decision in your notebook - write make a decision, reach a decision, tough decision.
When you read or listen to English, underline word combinations rather than individual words. Pay attention to which verbs go with which nouns, which adverbs go with which adjectives.
A useful approach is to learn all the nouns that go with one verb: make a decision / an effort / progress / a mess / friends / a living / a complaint. This builds a web of associations.
Browse the collocations by type and topic, search for any you want to focus on, and print a set to study offline.
Test yourself: Cover the first word of each collocation and try to produce it from the second word alone. Can you say ___ a decision, ___ rain, ___ recommend without thinking?