Relationships

Collocations for describing friendships, family, and romantic relationships

Introduction

Relationships have their own language of collocations. We "make friends" not "do friends", "fall in love" not "go in love". These fixed expressions are deeply embedded in how native speakers discuss human connections.

This chapter covers relationship collocations from family bonds to friendships and romance.

Themes

All Collocations in This Chapter (28)

• make friends To form new friendships with people
• close friend A very good friend whom you trust and share personal things with
• best friend Your closest and most valued friend
• fall in love To begin to feel romantic love for someone
• get married To enter into a legal marriage with someone
• broken heart Deep emotional pain caused by the end of a love relationship
• blind date A romantic meeting arranged between two people who have never met before
• mutual friend A person who is a friend of both you and someone else
• keep in touch To maintain contact with someone over time
• lose touch To gradually stop communicating with someone
• family ties The bonds and connections between family members
• sibling rivalry Competition and jealousy between brothers and sisters
• generation gap Differences in attitudes and values between older and younger people
• love at first sight Falling in love the very first time you see someone
• get along To have a friendly relationship with someone
• fall out To have a serious argument that damages a relationship
• make up To become friends again after an argument
• break up To end a romantic relationship
• settle down To start living a stable life, especially by getting married and having a home
• pop the question To ask someone to marry you; to propose
• tie the knot To get married
• growing apart Gradually becoming less close to someone over time
• lasting friendship A friendship that continues for a very long time
• unconditional love Love that is given freely without any conditions or expectations
• toxic relationship A harmful relationship that causes emotional damage
• platonic friendship A close friendship without any romantic or sexual feelings
• childhood sweetheart A person you were romantically attached to as a child or teenager
• extended family Family members beyond parents and siblings, such as aunts, uncles, cousins, a...