Ever wonder why “do a mistake” sounds off, but “make a mistake” feels right? That’s collocations — the word pairs that native speakers grab without thinking. This list of around 250 common English collocations is your shortcut to sounding more natural, whether you’re chatting with friends or writing an email.
Inside the interactive table, you’ll find each collocation with a plain-English meaning, a realistic example sentence, and easy-to-read US IPA so you pronounce it correctly. Tap the play button next to any entry to hear it spoken aloud — your ears need training, not just your eyes.
Grab a cup of tea and a pencil, because word combinations are where English starts to sound really natural. Scroll to the bottom for the free printable common collocations in english vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable common collocations in english flashcards.
If you want to turn collocations into real speech, try our free chunk-based English lessons. Start with Lesson 1 — you’ll learn speakable phrases right away.
Quick Quiz
Think you’ve got a feel for natural English? Take the short quiz below to see which collocations you already own and which ones still need a little love.
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Browse the Full List
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| make dinner | to prepare evening meal | Who’s going to make dinner tonight? |
| make friends | to become friends with people | It’s easy to make friends in this class. |
| make furniture | to build furniture | My grandfather makes furniture by hand. |
| make lunch | to prepare midday meal | She made lunch for the whole family. |
| make money | to earn money | He makes money by selling products online. |
| make noise | to produce sound | Please don’t make noise during the exam. |
| make progress | to improve or advance | She is making progress in her English. |
| make room | to create space | Can you make room for one more chair? |
| make time for | to find time for something | You should make time for your hobbies. |
| make trouble | to cause problems | The boys were making trouble at school. |
| meet a deadline | to finish by a specified time | We met the deadline for the project. |
| on time | at the scheduled time | She arrived on time. |
| once in a while | occasionally, not often | We eat out once in a while. |
| pay a fine | pay a penalty for an offense | He had to pay a fine for speeding. |
| pay attention | focus mentally | Please pay attention to the instructions. |
| pay by credit card | pay using a credit card | You can pay by credit card online. |
| pay cash | pay with physical money | I prefer to pay cash. |
| pay interest | pay extra money on a loan | The bank makes you pay interest on the loan. |
| pay respects | show honor, often to the deceased | They visited the cemetery to pay their respects. |
| pay someone a compliment | praise someone | She paid me a compliment about my work. |
| pay someone a visit | visit someone | We paid our grandparents a visit last weekend. |
| pay the bill | settle the invoice | Don’t forget to pay the bill before leaving. |
| pay the price | suffer consequences | If you cheat, you’ll pay the price later. |
| pay the rent | to give money for using a property | I pay the rent on the first of the month. |
| quick answer | a fast reply | He gave a quick answer. |
Free Common Collocations in English PDF and Flashcards
Use the purple vocab-list button to get the common collocations in english vocabulary list, or the teal flashcards button for the common collocations in english flashcards. Both are 100% free and require no signup.
