Monetary & Non-Monetary Uses (Pay), Random Actions (Run), Actions & Moments (Break) and 2 More Topics · English Collocations: Pay Run Break More

to convey one's admiration or approval for someone

"He paid me a nice compliment."

"The gentleman decided to pay a compliment to the woman by telling her how beautiful her dress looked."

to settle an obligation by returning borrowed money or fulfilling a financial commitment

"You must pay your debts on time."

"The honest man worked hard to pay his debt to the bank after borrowing money to start his business."

to provide a specified amount of money as a penalty for breaking a rule, law, or regulation

"He had to pay a fine for speeding."

"The speeding driver had to pay a fine of two hundred dollars to the court."

to concentrate or focus on a particular task or subject

"Please pay attention to me."

"You need to pay attention in class if you want to understand the lesson properly."

to carefully watch, consider, or listen to someone or something

"Please pay attention to the teacher."

"You really must pay more attention to the teacher if you want to pass."

to show respect or recognition to someone or something

"We paid tribute to the brave firefighter."

"The ceremony paid tribute to the brave firefighters who saved many lives during the disaster."

to go to a specific location, typically for social, friendly, or personal reasons

"We paid a visit to our neighbors."

"The friendly neighbours decided to pay a visit to the new family who just moved in next door."

to show honor and admiration to someone or something, typically in response to a loss, a situation, or in acknowledgment of someone's significance

"We stood in silence to pay respect to the fallen soldiers."

"The soldiers stood in silence to pay respect to their fallen comrades who died in the war."

to show honor, reverence, or farewell to a deceased person, typically by attending their funeral, memorial service, or viewing the body before burial or cremation

"They came to pay their last respects at the funeral."

"Hundreds of people came to the funeral to pay their last respects to the beloved community leader."

to give attention or serious consideration to a specific matter, advice, or warning

"You should pay heed to the warning signs."

"The driver did not pay heed to the warning signs and drove straight into the flooded road."

to show deep respect, honor, or reverence to someone or something, often in acknowledgment of their significance, influence, or achievements

"The artist paid homage to his teacher."

"The young musician paid homage to his idol by playing one of his famous songs at the concert."

to produce a profitable return or benefit as a result of an investment of time, effort, or resources

"Hard work pays dividends every time."

"Investing in education pays dividends throughout your entire career and opens many new opportunities."

to have an elevated body temperature, often as a symptom of an illness or infection

"He is running a fever."

"The child has been running a temperature for two days, so the doctor advised rest."

to behave in a wild, uncontrolled, and often violent manner

"A wild animal ran amok in the village."

"The children ran amok in the supermarket while their mother tried to finish her shopping."

(of rivers, streams, wells, or other sources of water) to become empty of water

"The well ran dry last summer."

"During the severe drought, many local rivers and streams ran dry, causing widespread concern."

to complete a short and often minor task

"I need to run an errand after work."

"I need to run an errand to the post office to mail this package before five o clock."

to be behind schedule or not arrive at a destination or appointment at the expected or planned time

"The bus is running late today."

"The bus is running late again today because of the heavy traffic on the main road."

to behave in a disorderly and uncontrolled manner

"The children ran wild at recess."

"Without proper supervision, the students ran wild and caused chaos in the school hallway."

to take a brief look at something

"Please run your eye over this document."

"The teacher ran her eye over the students' essays to check for any obvious mistakes."

to stop or overcome a behavior or practice that has become a regular part of one's life

"He finally broke his bad habit."

"The smoker finally managed to break the habit after trying to quit several times over many years."

to intentionally interrupt a moment of silence with a comment or action, usually to keep the conversation flowing or maintain the audience's attention

"He broke the pause."

"The presenter broke a pause in the lecture by asking a thought-provoking question."

to fail to fulfill a commitment or assurance given to someone

"Do not break a promise."

"He broke a promise to his daughter and she was extremely disappointed with him."

to set a new highest achievement or performance, typically in a competitive context

"The athlete broke a world record."

"The young athlete hopes to break the world record for the hundred metre sprint next year."

to reduce the impact or prevent injury when landing after a fall or sudden drop

"The bush broke his fall."

"The tree branches helped to break his fall when he slipped from the cliff and fell down."

to stop a planned holiday early and go back to work or home due to unforeseen circumstances

"We broke our vacation for a family emergency."

"The unexpected phone call from work broke my vacation and forced me to return home early."

to temporarily stop traveling during a trip, often for rest or to explore a place, before continuing

"We broke our journey at a small inn."

"We decided to break our long journey by stopping at a small hotel for the night."

to inform someone of important or disturbing information

"Break the news gently."

"The doctor gently broke the news to the family that their father had not survived the surgery."

to end a period of quietness or lack of communication by speaking, making noise, or taking action

"She broke the silence."

"After a long period of awkward quiet, the host finally broke the silence with a joke."

to end a magical or enchanting influence or to free someone from its effects

"The noise broke the spell."

"The sudden ringing of the phone broke the spell of the romantic movie and ruined the mood."

to suddenly start sweating

"I broke out in a sweat."

"The nervous speaker broke out in a sweat as soon as he walked onto the big stage."

to get very nervous or scared

"He broke out in a cold sweat when he saw the police."

"The nervous speaker broke out in a cold sweat just before he had to go on stage."

to reach a point where gains equal losses, resulting in a balance

"After a year, the business finally broke even."

"After two years of hard work the small business finally managed to break even financially."

to reach a point where gains equal losses, resulting in a balance

"The business will break even."

"After months of careful financial planning, the struggling startup finally managed to break even."

to become ill or experience discomfort, typically due to exposure to cold temperatures

"Don't catch a chill outside tonight."

"If you go out in the rain without a jacket, you might catch a chill and get sick."

to get sick with a virus that causes a runny nose, cough, and sore throat

"I caught a cold yesterday."

"If you go outside without a jacket in winter, you might catch a cold and feel terrible for several days."

to become sick with a higher body temperature, often because of an infection or illness

"He caught a fever after the storm."

"The little boy caught a fever after playing outside in the cold rain all afternoon."

to become infected with the influenza virus

"Many people caught the flu this winter."

"Many students caught the flu during the winter and had to stay home from school for a week."

to put an stop to any activity one was doing in order to take a short break and relax a bit

"I stopped running to catch my breath."

"After running up the stairs she stopped for a moment to catch her breath before entering the meeting room."

to start burning

"The old house caught fire quickly."

"The dry forest caught on fire after a lightning strike, and firefighters struggled to contain the blaze."

to get transportation from someone, typically by joining them in their vehicle and traveling with them to a particular destination

"I caught a ride with my neighbor."

"I managed to catch a ride to the airport with my neighbour who was going that way anyway."

to attend or watch a sporting event as a spectator

"We caught a game at the stadium."

"The baseball fans arrived early at the stadium to catch the game between the two rival teams."

to get a very quick look at a thing or person

"I caught a glimpse of the famous actor."

"The photographer managed to catch a glimpse of the rare bird before it flew away into the forest."

to obtain food, often by catching, hunting, or gathering it

"Let's catch a meal."

"We decided to catch a quick meal at the diner before heading to the concert."

to suddenly or briefly see a thing or person

"I caught sight of her."

"While walking through the park, I caught sight of a beautiful bird sitting quietly on a tree branch."

to get the general understanding of what someone means

"I catch your drift, no need to explain."

"I think I catch your drift so you do not need to explain the situation any further."

to attract or engage someone's focus or interest

"The sign caught my attention quickly."

"The bright colors and unique design of the advertisement caught my attention as I walked by."

to get sick with a virus that causes a runny nose, cough, and sore throat

"I caught a cold."

"After spending a day in the rain, he unfortunately caught a cold and felt quite unwell."

to temporarily stop and breathe slowly and deeply to recover from a period of heavy breathing or breathlessness

"Let me catch my breath."

"After sprinting the last mile, I needed a moment to catch my breath before continuing the race."

to start burning

"The house will catch fire."

"If the electrical wiring is faulty, the entire building could easily catch fire during a thunderstorm."

to become discouraged, often in the face of challenges

"Don't lose heart after one failure."

"Many people lose heart when they face repeated setbacks, but those who persevere often achieve their goals eventually."

to reduce one's body mass or overall body weight

"I want to lose weight this year."

"My doctor told me that I need to lose weight if I want to avoid health problems."

to no longer have someone believing in one's honest or reliability

"He lost their trust yesterday."

"The politician lost the trust of the public after he was caught lying about the scandal last year."

to no longer have confidence or faith in the honesty, reliability, or intentions of someone or something

"I have lost my trust in politicians."

"After being cheated twice I lost my trust in online shopping and now only buy from physical stores."

to temporarily or permanently be unable to speak or make vocal sounds due to a medical condition, strain, or illness

"She lost her voice today."

"After shouting at the concert all night, he completely lost his voice and couldn't speak the next morning."