collocate
/ˈkɑləkeɪt/
verb
- (of words) to frequently appear together in a language, forming a natural-sounding combination.
- In English, 'strong' and 'coffee' often collocate, but 'powerful coffee' sounds unnatural.
- The words 'make' and 'decision' collocate very frequently in business English.
- Learners should study which verbs collocate with 'attention' to sound more fluent.