Collocations death noun ADJ.

early, premature, untimely The president's untimely death has thrown the country into chaos. | sudden, unexpected | immediate, instant | quick | slow | approaching, imminent, impending | certain He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. | terrible | tragic the tragic death of their son | mysterious, suspicious Police are not treating the death as suspicious. | natural, unnatural | accidental a verdict of accidental death | violent Police report a decrease in violent deaths. | painful | cot, road | living (figurative) the living death of captivity VERB + DEATH bring, cause, lead to, mean, result in the drivers who bring death to our roads Poor living conditions can lead to early death. Touching the wires means instant death. The brutal attack resulted in the man's death. | die, face, meet She died a slow and painful death. He met his death two years later. | contemplate | risk | fear | approach, be near, near | cheat, escape He escaped death by inches when a tree fell on his tent. | save sb from | mourn mourning the death of their daughter | bleed to, burn to, choke to, freeze to, starve to | condemn sb to, sentence sb to | batter sb to, beat sb to, burn sb to, choke sb to, club sb to, crush sb to, flog sb to, hack sb to, kick sb to, put sb to, stab sb to, stone sb to, torture sb to, trample sb to | bepunishable/punished by Incest was punishable by death. Your next of kin will receive death benefit if you die in an accident. | duties After the death duties had been paid, there was little money left for the family. | threat The actor has received death threats since appearing in the controversial film. | wish He took drugs as if he had some kind of death wish. | agonies, throes The snake was writhing in its death agonies. (figurative) By 1740 European feudalism was in its death throes. | bed (also deathbed) On his deathbed, my father made me promise not to sell the house. | squad Paramilitary death squads are rumoured to be operating in the area. | warrant (often figurative) By publicly condemning the terrorists he was signing his own death warrant. | camp He died as a prisoner of war in an enemy death camp. PREP. after (sb's) ~ Do you believe in life after death? | at ~ (formal) The average age at death of plague victims was 14. | before (sb's) ~, in ~ His face looked more peaceful in death than it had during his last days. | near (to) ~ It was clear that the dog was near death. | on sb's ~ On Samuel's death, the farm passed to his sons. | ~ by death by starvation | ~ from Two deaths from cholera have been reported. PHRASES cause of death The coroner said the cause of death was a stroke. | a matter of life and/or death Fulfilling orders on time is a matter of life and death for a small company. | sentence of death Four prisoners were under sentence of death. DEATH + VERB come, happen, occur Her death came at the age of 82. More deaths occur in winter. | result from deaths resulting from disease DEATH + NOUN rate The government's campaign aims to cut the death rate from heart attacks. | toll The death toll in the earthquake has been put at over one thousand. | penalty, sentence If found guilty of drug trafficking, the pair could face the death

penalty. | row There are currently over 3,000 prisoners on death row. | certificate | benefit

life noun
1

living things

ADJ. intelligent Is there intelligent life on other planets? | animal, bird, human, insect, marine, plant LIFE + NOUN form | cycle
2

existence

VERB + LIFE lose He lost his life in an air crash. | bring sb back to, restore sb to | cling to, fight for She clung to life for several weeks. | risk She risked her life for the sake of the children. | save a drug that will save lives | spare She begged the soldiers to spare her son's life. | give, lay down, sacrifice | claim, cost, end, take The crash claimed 43 lives. His foolishness almost cost him his life. She took her own life. | start (figurative) The restaurant started life as a cinema. LIFE + VERB be lost No lives were lost in the accident. LIFE + NOUN assurance, insurance PHRASES an attempt on sb's life There have been three attempts on the president's life. | in fear for/of your life Witnesses are living in fear for their life after giving evidence against the gang. | life after death Do you believe in life after death? | loss of life The plane crashed with heavy loss of life. | a matter of life and death (figurative) These talks are a matter of life and death for the factory. | the right to life antiabortionists campaigning for the right to life | signs of life The driver showed no signs of life.
3

period between birth and death

ADJ. long, short | entire, whole | early | adult | later In later life he took up writing. | past, previous He never discussed the unhappinesses of his past life. I think I may have been an animal in a previous life. | future, next | working He was a miner all his working life. VERB + LIFE go through, live, spend She went through life always wanting what she couldn't get. He spent his whole life in Cornwall. | end He ended his life a happy man. | shorten | prolong | dedicate, devote He devoted his life to the education of deaf children.

LIFE + NOUN history, story | membership | imprisonment, sentence | expectancy, span (also lifespan) Japanese people have a very high life expectancy. the lifespan of a mouse PREP. for ~ She thought marriage should be for life. | in your ~ for the first time in her life | throughout your ~ Throughout her life she was dogged by loneliness. PHRASES all your life I've known her all my life. | at sb's time of life At his time of life he should be starting to take things easy. | the end of your lifeHer paintings became more obscure towards the end of her life. | late in life She discovered jazz quite late in life. | the of your life I had the fright of my life when I saw the snake in my bed. He met the love of his life at college. | a phase/stage in/of (your) life She sensed she was entering a new phase in her life. | the prime of life You're still in the prime of life. | the remainder/rest of your life He'll be haunted by the crash for the rest of his life.
4

activity in the world

ADJ. daily, day-to-day, everyday | real a real-life drama | modern | personal, private She did not tolerate press intrusion into her private life. | innerOnly his wife had access to his inner life. | family, married | social | love, sex | public His fame was so sudden that he was unprepared for public life. | academic, business, cultural, economic, intellectual, political, professional, school | night (also nightlife) What's the nightlife like in the town? | city, village, etc. VERB + LIFE build, rebuild He built his whole life around his children. She is still reb PHRASES an attitude to life, an outlook on life, a philosophy/view of life I've always had a fairly optimistic outlook on life. | a love of life He always had a great love of life. | a man/woman in your life There has only been one woman in his life. | see sth of life I wanted to see something of life before I settled down. | the side of life His time in London was his first glimpse of the seamier side of life. | want sth from/in/out of life They both seem to want the same things out of life.
5

way of living

ADJ. good, happy | lonely, miserable, sad, unhappy | hard | easy | active, busy, hectic | exciting | full | peaceful, quiet | normal, ordinary | healthy | sheltered | double He had been leading a double life, married to two women. VERB + LIFE have, lead, live She leads a busy social life. | enjoy | change Learning meditation changed her life. | dominate, take over He never let his work dominate his life. | ruin He ruined his life through drinking. PHRASES build/make/start a new life They went to Australia to start a new life. | enjoy/live life to the full He always believed in living life to the full. | the high life enjoying the high life in the smartest hotels and restaurants of New York | live a life of They're living a life of luxury in the Bahamas. | a/the pace of life The pace of life is much gentler on the island. | the quality of life He gave up his high-flying job and now

enjoys a better quality of life. | a way of life She loved the Spanish way of life and immediately felt at home there.
6

liveliness

VERB + LIFE come to The city only comes to life at night. | breathe, bring sth to, inject They need some new, younger staff to breathe some life into the company. | burst/hum/teem with a child bursting with life PHRASES full of life It's nice to see an old man still so full of life.

witness noun
1

person who sees sth

ADJ. eye (also eyewitness) An eyewitness account described the plane as a fireball. | crucial, key, material, vital As the last person to see her alive, he was a material witness in the case. | independent | credible, reliable, unimpeachable | unreliable VERB + WITNESS appeal for The police are appealing for witnesses. | trace Police have so far failed to trace any witnesses to the attack. WITNESS + VERB come forward Two witnesses came forward with evidence. WITNESS + NOUN account, statement PREP. ~ to a witness to murder
2

in a court of law

ADJ. chief, main, principal the defence's chief witness | hostile | reluctant, unwilling | defence | prosecution, state | expert | character | civilian, police VERB + WITNESS call The defence called their first witness. | appear as She appeared as a character witness. | swear in | cross-examine, examine, interrogate, interview, question | hear | discredit | intimidate, threaten A judicial enquiry was ordered, but witnesses were threatened and none would testify. | suborn He was charged with conspiracy to suborn witnesses. WITNESS + VERB take the stand The next witness took the stand. | give evidence, testify | make a statement, state sth | identify sb She was the only witness to identify Peters as the attacker. WITNESS + NOUN box, stand | summons PHRASES a witness for the defence/prosecution

of a signature

VERB + WITNESS act as WITNESS + VERB sign PREP. ~ to Would you be willing to act as a witness to my signature when I sign my will?

experience noun
1

knowledge/skill got from seeing/doing sth

ADJ. considerable, long, wide | good, invaluable, relevant, unrivalled, valuable She didn't get paid much but it was all good experience. Both candidates for the presidency were short of relevant experience. Rolls Royce's unrivalled experience in high technology manufacturing | previous Do you have any previous experience of this type of work? | direct, first-hand, hands-on, practical the importance of hands-on experience as well as academic training | professional, work VERB + EXPERIENCE have | lack | gain, get | broaden She wanted to broaden her experience in international affairs. PREP. ~ of She has considerable professional experience of translation. PHRASES a lack of experience, a wealth of experience The veteran goalkeeper will bring a wealth of experience to the team.
2

the things that have happened to you

ADJ. past We're in for a difficult couple of weeks, if past experience is anything to go by. | direct, first-hand, hands-on, personal | subjective Experience is subjective and very hard to measure. | vicarious I love reading: I have an insatiable appetite for vicarious experience. | common, shared his peers, with whom he shares the common experience of being black in a white society | common It is a matter of common experience that disorder will increase if things are left to themselves. | everyday Choose illustrative examples from the children's everyday experience. | human There are few areas of human experience that have not been written about. | sensory VERB + EXPERIENCE have | share | draw on, learn by/from/through In her book, she draws on her first-hand experience of mental illness. We all learn by experience. | be based on The book is based on personal experience. EXPERIENCE + VERB suggest sth, teach (sb) sth Experience has taught me that life can be very unfair.

PREP. by/from ~ We know from experience that hot objects are painful to touch. | in sb's ~ In my experience, very few people really understand the problem. | ~ of He has direct experience of poverty.
3

event/activity that affects you

ADJ. enjoyable, exhilarating, good, interesting, liberating, pleasant, rewarding, unforgettable, valuable | bad, harrowing, painful, traumatic, unnerving, unsettling I had a bad experience with fireworks once. | hair-raising, nerve-racking a hair-raising experience of white-water rafting | humbling, salutary, sobering | personal, subjective | common, shared The use of drama can motivate students by allowing them to share a common experience. | common It is a common experience to feel that an author writes well, without being able to say why. | real-life | past | childhood, early, formative Early experiences shape the way we face up to and deal with crises in later life. | educational, learning | mystical, religious, visionary | psychic | sexual | near-death VERB + EXPERIENCE enjoy, go through, have, undergo She has been through a very traumatic experience. I think you will enjoy the experience of taking part in the show. | come through, get over It could take him years to get over this experience. | describe, recount, talk about | share, swap Does anyone have any experiences?good or bad?that they would like to share with the group? | relive Reliving past experiences can release powerful feelings that have been pent up too long. | be based on The novel is based on his experiences in the war. PHRASES quite an experience It was quite an experience being involved in making a television programme. experience verb ADV. actually | directly, first-hand He hadn't directly experienced the fighting in the city. people who have actually experienced these problems first-hand| subjectively

event noun
1

sth that happens

ADJ. big, great, historic, important, key, main, major, momentous, significant Tonight's programme looks back at the main events of the year. | dramatic, remarkable | happy | sad, tragic, traumatic | rare Outside big cities, murder is a rare event. | subsequent Subsequent events proved him wrong.| historical, political VERB + EVENT witness When the ship finally reached land, only a few of the crew were left to witness the event. | record We had a huge party, and hired a photographer to record the event. | celebrate, commemorate, mark Today is the hospital's fiftieth anniversary, and there will be a party to mark the event.

EVENT + VERB happen, occur, take place, unfold TV viewers watched in horror as events unfolded. | lead to sth These events quickly led to confusion. | lead up to sth The police are trying to establish a picture of events leading up to the killing. PHRASES a chain/sequence/series of events, the course of events Would it have been possible to change the course of events?
2

planned social occasion

ADJ. big, important, main, major, special | popular | prestigious The Birmingham meeting is one of the most prestigious events in the racing calendar. | inaugural | annual, regular | forthcoming Forthcoming events are listed on the back page of the local newspaper. | fund-raising, musical, social, sporting middle-distance, sprint VERB + EVENT enter (for), take part in A record number of teams have entered the event. | win EVENT + VERB take place The team events will take place later this week. PREP. in an/the ~ African runners swept the medals in the distance events. VERB + EVENT hold, organize, stage The event will be held in the grounds of the manor house. | publicize | attend, support I would like to thank everyone who attended our charity evening for supporting the event. | boycott Several leading players boycotted the event in protest at the reduced prize money. EVENT + VERB take place
3

race/competition

ADJ. big, main This race will be the main event of the afternoon. | individual, team | men's, women's | field, track | jumping, running, throwing | distance, long-distance,