Collocations are combinations of words that frequently go together in English. Understanding these phrases can enhance your fluency and make your speech more natural. Here’s a list of 100 common collocations along with their meanings and examples.

Break a habit
To stop doing something regularly.
It’s hard to break a bad habit.

Break a record
To achieve a new best.
She broke the world record in the 100m dash.

Break the news
To inform someone of important information.
I need to break the news about the changes in the schedule.

Catch someone's attention
To attract someone's focus.
The ad caught my attention immediately.

Catch someone's eye
To attract someone’s attention.
The colorful dress caught my eye in the store.

Do business
To engage in commerce or trade.
They do business with several companies overseas.

Do homework
To complete school assignments.
I need to do my homework before dinner.

Do the laundry
To wash clothes.
I need to do the laundry this weekend.

Do someone a favor
To help someone.
Can you do me a favor and pick up my package?

Give a call
To telephone someone.
I’ll give you a call later.

Give a sppech
To deliver a talk or speech to an audience.
She will give a speech on climate change.

Give feedback
To provide constructive criticism or evaluation.
Please give me feedback on my presentation.

Give it a try
To attempt something.
Why not give it a try and see what happens?

Give someone a hand
To help someone.
Can you give me a hand with this project?

Give someone a lift
To provide someone with a ride.
Can you give me a lift to the station?

Go for a walk
To walk for pleasure or exercise.
Let’s go for a walk in the park.

Get a chance
To have an opportunity.
I hope to get a chance to meet her.

Get a job
To find employment.
He hopes to get a job after graduation.

Get ahead
To progress or advance.
He works hard to get ahead in his career.

Get along with
To have a friendly relationship.
I get along well with my coworkers.

Get back to
To return to a previous topic or activity.
Let’s get back to our discussion after lunch.

Get in shape
To become physically fit.
I want to get in shape for the summer.

Get rid of
To eliminate or remove something.
It’s time to get rid of old clothes.

Get the hang of
To understand how to do something.
Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy.

Get the message
To understand the communication.
I hope he gets the message I sent.

Give a warning
To alert someone about potential danger.
The teacher gave a warning about the upcoming test.

Have a conversation
To talk to someone.
Let’s have a conversation about our plans for the weekend.

Have a discussion
To talk about a topic in detail.
We should have a discussion about our strategy.

Have a good time
To enjoy oneself.
We had a good time at the concert.

Have a look
To glance at something.
Can you have a look at this document?

Have an idea
To think of something.
I have an idea for our next project.

Have an impact
To have a strong effect on something.
His speech had a significant impact on the audience.

Keep a secret
To not tell anyone about something.
Can you keep a secret about my surprise party?

Keep in touch
To maintain contact.
We should keep in touch after graduation.

Lose weight
To reduce body weight.
I’m trying to lose weight by exercising regularly.

Make a choice
To select an option.
You need to make a choice between the two offers.

Make a decision
To choose from options.
She had to make a decision about her job offer.

Make a deal
To reach an agreement.
They made a deal to collaborate on the project.

Make a discovery
To find something new or unknown.
Scientists made a discovery in the field of medicine.

Make a face
To express emotions through facial expressions.
He made a funny face to make the kids laugh.

Make a list
To write down items or tasks.
I need to make a list of groceries.

Make a mistake
To error or do something wrong.
I made a mistake in my calculations.

Make a promise
To assure someone you will do something.
I promise I will help you with your project.

Make an effort
To try hard.
She is making an effort to improve her skills.

Make an impression
To create a strong effect on someone.
He made a great impression during the interview.

Make a statement
To express an opinion or idea formally.
The artist made a statement about society through her work.

Make a wish
To hope for something to happen.
When you blow out the candles, make a wish.

Make friends
To form new friendships.
It’s important to make friends when you move to a new city.

Make time
To create an opportunity in one’s schedule.
I’ll make time to help you with your project.

Pay attention
To focus or concentrate.
Please pay attention during the lecture.

Pay a visit
To go see someone.
I’m planning to pay a visit to my grandparents.

Run a business
To manage a company.
He wants to run a business one day.

Run out of
To have no more of something.
We ran out of milk, so we need to buy some.

Take a break
To pause an activity.
Let’s take a break and grab some coffee.

Take a chance
To do something risky.
You should take a chance and apply for that job.

Take a deep breath
To inhale deeply, usually to relax.
Take a deep breath before you speak.

Take a look
To glance at something.
Can you take a look at this report?

Take a picture
To photograph something.
Can you take a picture of us?

Take a risk
To expose oneself to potential loss or injury.
Sometimes you need to take a risk to succeed.

Take a stance
To adopt a position on an issue.
The politician took a stance on environmental issues.

Take action
To do something to achieve a result.
We need to take action to resolve the issue.

Take control
To assume authority over something.
You need to take control of your finances.

Take it easy
To relax.
You should take it easy this weekend.

Take notes
To write down important information.
Make sure to take notes during the meeting.

Take part in
To participate in something.
She wants to take part in the charity event.

Take responsibility
To accept accountability.
You need to take responsibility for your actions.

Take the opportunity
To seize a chance.
I decided to take the opportunity to study abroad.

Take time
To require a period to do something.
It will take time to complete the project.

Take place
To happen or occur.
The event will take place next Saturday.

Talk about
To discuss a topic.
Let’s talk about our plans for the weekend.

Think about
To consider something.
I need to think about the offer before deciding.

Turn a blind eye
To ignore something.
The manager turned a blind eye to the employee’s behavior.

Turn up
To arrive.
She didn’t turn up for the meeting.

Wake up
To stop sleeping.
I usually wake up at 7 a.m.

Watch out
To be careful.
Watch out for the car coming down the street.

Work hard
To put in a lot of effort.
If you work hard, you will succeed.

Work out
To exercise.
I try to work out at the gym three times a week.

Wrap up
To finish or conclude something.
Let’s wrap up this meeting and go home.

Get down to business
To start focusing on the task at hand.
Let’s get down to business and discuss the project.

Get together
To meet.
We should get together for lunch soon.

Come to an agreement
To reach a mutual decision.
After much discussion, they finally came to an agreement.

Come to a conclusion
To reach a decision after consideration.
After the analysis, we came to a conclusion.

Come to terms with
To accept a difficult situation.
She had to come to terms with her loss.

Fall in love
To become romantically attached.
They fell in love during their trip.

Face the challenge
To confront a difficult situation.
She is ready to face the challenge ahead.

Face the music
To confront the consequences of one's actions.
He had to face the music after missing the deadline.

Make a fuss
To show unnecessary excitement or concern.
Don’t make a fuss over the little things.

Make a fool of oneself
To embarrass oneself.
I made a fool of myself at the party.

Make an appointment
To schedule a meeting.
I need to make an appointment with the doctor.

Run into someone
To meet someone unexpectedly.
I ran into an old friend at the store.

Run the risk
To expose oneself to danger.
You run the risk of losing your job if you’re not careful.

Take charge
To assume control or responsibility.
She decided to take charge of the project.

Take time off
To take a break from work or duties.
He decided to take time off to travel.

Work on something
To spend time improving or developing something.
I need to work on my presentation for tomorrow.

Work through problems
To find solutions to difficulties.
They need to work through their differences.

Take advantage of
To exploit a situation or resource.
You should take advantage of the sales.

Get by
To manage or survive, often financially.
I don’t earn much, but I get by.

Be in charge of
To have control over something.
She is in charge of the marketing team.

Look forward to
To anticipate something with pleasure.
I look forward to our vacation next month.

Take a tour
To explore a place.
We took a tour of the city yesterday.