Understanding how to use the word “move” in different contexts can enhance your communication skills. This post explores 20 collocations with “move,” focusing on idioms and phrasal verbs to help you express yourself more effectively.
What Are Collocations?
Collocations are combinations of words that frequently appear together and sound natural to native speakers. These often include a verb and a noun or an adverb and an adjective.
Collocations with Move
1. Move forward
Meaning: To progress or advance something.
Example: We need to move forward with the plans.
2. Move along
Meaning: To continue to move or to make progress.
Example: The crowd was asked to move along by the police.
3. Move out
Meaning: To leave one’s current residence or place.
Example: She decided to move out and find her own apartment.
4. Move over
Meaning: To change position to make space for someone or something.
Example: Could you move over a bit so I can sit down?
5. Move up
Meaning: To advance in position or rank.
Example: He moved up quickly in the company due to his hard work.
6. Move away
Meaning: To go to a different area to live or work.
Example: After college, he moved away to Europe.
7. Move in
Meaning: To start living in a new home.
Example: They’re excited to move in next week.
8. Move aside
Meaning: To step to one side.
Example: She moved aside to let the others pass.
9. Move on
Meaning: To start a new activity or stop dwelling on the old.
Example: It’s time to move on and forget about what happened.
10. Move out of the way
Meaning: To remove oneself from a path or to clear a path.
Example: He quickly moved out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.
11. Move mountains
Meaning: To achieve seemingly impossible tasks.
Example: He would move mountains to help his friends.
12. Move to tears
Meaning: To cause someone to cry through emotions.
Example: The movie was so touching; it moved me to tears.
13. Move closer
Meaning: To decrease the distance between oneself and something else.
Example: Everyone moved closer to hear the announcement.
14. Move silently
Meaning: To proceed without making noise.
Example: The cat moved silently towards its prey.
15. Move quickly
Meaning: To act or proceed swiftly.
Example: We need to move quickly to secure the deal.
16. Move smoothly
Meaning: To proceed easily without hindrance.
Example: The presentation moved smoothly, without any issues.
17. Move cautiously
Meaning: To proceed with care to avoid mistakes or danger.
Example: Move cautiously through this section of the road.
18. Move freely
Meaning: To proceed without restrictions.
Example: Within the park, everyone can move freely.
19. Move backward
Meaning: To go back to an earlier position or state.
Example: Sometimes you need to move backward to understand the whole picture.
20. Move ahead
Meaning: To proceed or go forward.
Example: Let’s move ahead with the project as planned.
Read More: 20 Expressions with “Say” in English
