Quizlet – Collocations C1-C2 with examples

collocations c12 

Get access to all your stats, your personal progress dashboard and smart study shortcuts with Quizlet Plus. Unlock Progress 

Terms in this set (684) 

have/get sth down to a fine artto be able to do something very well or quickly, often because you have done it so many times 

if there is not much in the way of something, there is not 

(not)in the way of sth 

bad blood 

be (all) for the best 

at best 

get the better of 

collocations c12

much of that particular thing What is there in the way of tools? 

He doesn't have much in the way of education. 

negative feelings, disagreements 

(thù hằn giữa 2 gia đình) There has been bad blood between the two families for years. 

thế cũng không phải tồi quá I had to go home and change after spilling coffee on myself, but it was all for the best because I avoided a major traffic jam. 

kể cả có tích cực như thế nào nữa 

If he drops the course now, at best he'll get an incomplete, and he could fail. 

to defeat someone in a competition 

He fought fiercely, but his opponent easily got the better of him. Her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the door and peeped inside. 

be (all) the better for 

trở nên tốt hơn nhờ vào .... 

Their performance will be all the better for a little extra practice. 

be better off giàu/có nhiều tiền hơn trước 

for better or (for) worseused to say that something cannot be changed, whether the result is good or bad 

the bottom drops/falls out of the (product) market 

ngta dừng,không mua nó nữa 

The bottom has fallen out of the fur coat market. 

from the bottom of my heart with sincere feeling 

a sudden complete end to something such as a 

make a clean break 

relationship or a period of time spent in a place After the divorce, I decided to make a clean break and moved to a new town. 

a clean bill of healthIf something or someone has a clean bill of health, then there's nothing wrong; everything's fine. 

-win absolutely everything in a competition or contest. 

The United States had a clean sweep in the 100 

-(have a)clean sweep 

-make a clean sweep 

collocations c12

metres. 

-to get rid of everything unnecessary or unwanted: (staff,old methods) 

The boss is going to make a clean sweep of all the incompetent people in the office 

with 'A CLEAN SLATE' 

có 1 tâm thái mới(không qtam chuyện trong quá khứ nữa) 

a state in which you are starting an activity or process again, not considering what has happened in the past at al 

to keep a clean sheet giữ sạch lưới 

make myself cleardid I ____ ______ _____? 

làm ai hiểu ý mình nói gì 

to have a clear conscience to be free of guilt about someone or something as clear as a bell very easy to hear/understand 

as clear as mud very difficult to understand 

a clear case (of)rõ ràng là ... 

It's a clear case of corruption 

do the dirty on sbto behave unfairly towards someone, usually without their knowledge 🙁 

to do something unpleasant or difficult for someone else 

do sb's dirty work 

who does not want to do it himself or herself: Tell her yourself - I'm not going to do your dirty work for you. 

get your hands dirty làm việc (nặng nhọc) 

give sb a dirty lookto look at someone in a disapproving way He gave me a 

collocations c12

really dirty look. 

fine by me ok 

a fine line between sth and sthsth is similar to sth else 

___ personal ambition and ruthlessness 

fine printsmall text that contains important information (muốn làm ng khác chú ý vào) 

examine in great detail; thoroughly 

with a fine-tooth comb fresh from sth 

eg: 

the police went over the house with_____ 

vừa mời : 

1. come from a particular place or experience The team is fresh from their victory over the French. 

2.hoàn thành (education,goal,...) (also fresh out of something) He's fresh out of law school. 

to be fresh out of somethinghaving just finished or sold all of something: We're fresh out of oranges, would you like an apple? 

fresh-faced looking young 

freshwater water without salt 

fresh start cơ hội để bắt đầu làm gì 

a whole new ballgame a completely new or different situation 

nice as pie /paɪ/behaving in a very pleasant way towards someone, especially when this was not expected 

collocations c12

poor old sbused for showing sympathy towards someone Poor old Mrs Kirk's just gone into hospital again. 

old folk(s) old people 

a place where old people can live together and be cared 

old people's home old hat (n) 

for when they are too weak or ill to take care of themselves 

not modern or exciting He may be old hat among the trendy younger generation, but his shows draw more viewers than any other comedian. 

quality time time when parents are totally attentive to their children nice one! awesome 

come out on top to be the best or the winner 

To style oneself/something asself-image (1 cá tính mà họ không có): Marco styles himself as a business 

the worse for wearbecoming worn out 

hỏng These chairs are the worse for wear. 

không bị tồi tàn mặc dù bị ảnh hưởng nặng, không hề 

none the worse (for something) 

take a turn for the worse 

collocations c12

hấn gì cả 

It was cold and windy during the parade but we were none the worse for the weather. 

trở nên tốt hơn, xấu hơn 

His fortunes have taken a turn for the better Her health has taken a turn for the worse. 

fear the worst (for) 

be your own worst enemy if (the) worst comes to (the) worst born and bred 

to feel worried that something very bad will happen or has already happened 

They were very late, and I was beginning to fear the worst. 

to be the cause of your own problems 

He's his own worst enemy - he alienates everyone who wants to help him. Carrie is her own worst enemy - she's always arguing with people. 

if the situation gets very bad indeed We should be in when you arrive, but if the worst comes to the worst, the neighbours have a spare key and will let you into the house. 

used to say that someone was born and grew up in a particular place, and has the typical character of someone who lives there: 

he's a pausian born and bred 

at worst tồi tệ nhất thì... 

feature in sthto be included as part of something such as a plan,calculatuon... 

Features that help reduce speed before impact or 

safety features 

protect passengers during a collision (seat belts,child seats) 

marriage of convenience Kết hôn giả collocations c12

not in the national interest it's all relative 

the nearest thing to something 

không có lợi cho quốc gia 

The government's view is that raising taxes now would not be in the national interest (= would not be good for the country). 

used to say that something can be thought of in opposite ways depending on what one compares it to(nhưng cũng có thể ngược lại, nó cũng chỉ tương đối thôi) 

The car might seem expensive, but it's all relative. 

gán cho (vì thứ đó không có thật và mình chỉ đang so sánh thứ giống nhất) ~ used when something does not exist in a particular place or situation and you are referring to the thing that is most similar to it she described prison as the nearest thing to hell on earth 

command respect make people respect you 

on sb's accountvì ai 

You don't have to leave early on my account 

redress the balance khôi phục thế cân bằng 

upset the apple cartlàm đảo lộn 

to cause trouble, especially by spoiling someone's plans 

in the belief thatbecause you think that something is true: 

She wrote to him in the belief that he would help her. 

for sb's consideration give someone something to think about collocations c12

out of consideration for 

with consideration for someone or something; with kind regard for someone or something 

in consideration of in view of; in return for 

to raise doubts about nghi ngờ 

have your doubts (about sth)to have reasons why you are not certain about whether sth is good or whether sth good will happen 

doubt as to / about sth a feeling of not being certain about something beyond doubt chắc chắn 

open to doubt not definite, quite unlikely 

work/go like a dreamto work or go extremely well, without any problems: The whole plan worked like a dream. 

have/give the false impression that =pretend(đưa thông tin sai lệch) mental arithmetic /əˈrɪθ.mə.tɪk/ calculations that one does in their mind take your mind off stop thinking about 

to remember something: 

bring/call sth to mind 

I can see his face, but I just can't bring his name to mind. That music brings to mind our first date. 

put into perspective to compare sth to other things 

beyond question there're no doubts about it collocations c12

see sense/reason think rationally 

in one sense thinking about sth in one way, but not in every come to sb's senses to act sensibly after acting unwisely once and for all finally, absolutely 

put/set somebody straight (about/on something) 

put/set the record straight 

to make certain that someone knows the real facts about a situation Don't worry, I set him straight (on this matter). 

to show that something that has been regarded as true is in fact not true 

đính chính 1 hiểu lầm She's decided to write her memoirs to set the record straight once and for all. 

take a dim/poor view of something to disapprove of something 

take/hold the view that (formal) to believe that 

break with tradition to do something different from what is usually done 

If something is welcome, you are pleased to have or do 

it: 

a welcome break 

The holiday was a welcome change/break/relief. She offered him the welcome chance/opportunity to do something different. 

make a break for itto escape : chớp cơ hội tẩu thoát When the guard was not looking, the prisoners made a break for it. 

around the clock all day and all night collocations c12

at a later/future date một ngày nào đó trong tương lai be in good/bad form sung sức,vui vẻ 

form an impression (of sthg/sb) to get an idea or opinion of what something is like 

for your own good/safety/benefit etc 

if you do something for someone's own good etc, you do it to help them even though they might not like it or want it I'm only telling you this for your own good. 

assume the form of become into 

know better than to do sth to be wise or moral enough not to do something to be in the process of doing sth to have started doing something to be helpful 

serve a purpose 

The player's versatility means that he can serve a purpose in many positions on the pitch. 

sense of purpose nhận thức về mục tiêu 

escape from reality Fantasy, dreams, not facing life, illegal substances 

keep regular/late hoursto perform the same acitivities every day at normal/late times 

after hours outside regular business hours 

until all hours = very late 

collocations c12

at all hours 

repeatedly during the day and the night 

cho đến bất cứ lúc nào (mặc dù không thích hợp hoặc không thuận tiện) 

make the best of a bad jobto accept a bad situation and deal with it in the best way that you can 

do/make a good/bad job of sth làm tốt/tệ 

office block a large building that contains offices 

make a start (on/at) sth begin to v 

get off to a good/flying/head/bad start 

bdau ntn 

jail term the period of time that someone must spend in prison a very brief moment of time 

a split second 

They brought out guns and for a split second nobody moved 

work like a charm/magic to be very effective, possibly in a surprising way work a treat to operate very well 

work wonders do a lot of good for something 

a (nasty) piece of work a person who is unpleasant, unkind, or dishonest 

to work your way through universityto have a paid job whilst studying to support yourself financially 

collocations c12

come to do sth 

1. to finally reach a state in which something happens or you do something. 2. to do something by chance 

drive at imply, suggest 

drive sb to do sth make sb do sth 

drive your point/message home to state something in a very forceful and effective way 

1. to happen in a satisfactory way, without problems: 

If you plan the project well, then everything should fall 

fall into place fall to pieces 

into place. 

2. to become easy to understand: 

Once, I discovered that the woman was his sister, everything fell into place. 

1. to be in a very bad condition because of being old or badly made 

The furniture's falling to pieces. 2. to be so upset or unhappy that you cannot behave normally 

fall into a category belong to; category to make progress toward a goal: 

get somewhere 

After months of talks, negotiators think they're finally getting somewhere 

jump at the chance to take the opportunity 

to always do something or to take particular care to do 

make a point of 

collocations c12

something: 

xem mình có bổn phận phải làm I'll make a point of asking her today 

run riot 

1.to behave in a way that is violent and/or not under control 

2.(imagination) có ý độc lạ 

run through sthto look at, examine, or deal with a set of things, especially quickly 

run into problems to encounter problems 

in a mad rush to try and get things done last minute steady your nerves to stop yourself from feeling nervous 

keep track of sthto have all the information that you need about something 

lose track of time to be unaware of what time it is 

to be very familiar with a place, subject, or system, and 

know the way around sth 

therefore be able to act effectively: 

Those two guys really know their way around an engine. 

get sth out of the wayto finish doing something, especially something difficult or unpleasant 

answer charges/criticisms đáp lại dư luận 

answer a need to provide what is needed 

someone or something that someone has needed very 

answer sb's prayers 

much for a long time -> A new supermarket delivery 

service was the answer to my prayers. collocations c12

get into an argumentcãi vã So I heard that you two got into an argument last night—what was it about? 

ask sb a favour nhờ ai giúp 

easily available: 

for the asking 

asking for trouble/it 

There are a lot of organizations that have scholarship money for the asking. 

doing things that were certain to result in trouble Drinking alcohol before driving is really asking for trouble. 

read sb like a book to understand easily what sb is planning or thinking to do sth by the book To do sth according to the rules 

a closed book to me >< openIf a subject is a closed book to you, it is something that you don't understand or know anything about. 

follow/obey sth to the letter to do exactly what you are told to do to tell someone about something 

bring sth to sb's notice 

Their working conditions were only brought to public notice last year. 

come to sb's notice (that) để ý rằng 

escape sb's noticeIf something escapes your notice, you fail to recognize it or realize it.. 

collocations c12

until further notice 

until someone announces that a situation has changed or no longer exists 

-> The road is closed to traffic until further notice