A collocation is a familiar grouping of words, especially words that habitually appear together and thereby convey meaning by association.

Collocational range refers to the set of items that typically accompany a word. The size of a collocational range is partially determined by a word's level of specificity and number of meanings.
There are different kinds of collocations in English. Strong collocations are word pairings that are expected to come together. Good collocation examples of this type of word pairing are combinations with 'make' and 'do'. You make a cup of tea, but do your homework. Collocations are very common in business settings when certain nouns are routinely combined with certain verbs or adjectives. For example, draw up a contract, set a price, conduct negotiations, etc.

• Invading that country was an utterly stupid thing to do.
• We entered a richly decorated room.
• Are you fully aware of the implications of your action?

• The doctor ordered him to take regular exercise.
• The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
• He was writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.

• Let's give Mr Jones a round of applause.
• The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 11am.
• I'd like to buy two bars of soap please.

• The lion started to roar when it heard the dog barking.
• Snow was falling as our plane took off.
• The bomb went off when he started the car engine.

• The prisoner was hanged for committing murder.
• I always try to do my homework in the morning, after making my bed.
• He has been asked to give a presentation about his work.

• We had to return home because we had run out of money.
• At first her eyes filled with horror, and then she burst into tears.
• Their behaviour was enough to drive anybody to crime.

• She placed her keys gently on the table and sat down.
• Mary whispered softly in John's ear.
• I vaguely remember that it was growing dark when we left