AICE Language Lexis Practice Exam

Collocation strength is about how tightly two words tend to go together in ordinary usage. When a pair has strong collocation strength, speakers expect it and it sounds natural and precise in context. For example, phrases like “make a decision” or “strong coffee” are the kinds of word pairs native speakers routinely use together. We wouldn’t normally say “make an action” or “strong rain” with the same natural feel, because those are weaker collocations.

This concept isn’t about repetition as a figure of speech, nor about the emotional tone or connotation of a word, nor about its grammatical category (part of speech).