Collocations with Move: Useful English Expressions to Sound More Natural

Hello English learners! Welcome to a new vocabulary lesson. If you want to sound more natural in English, learning single words is not enough. You also need to learn collocations — words that naturally go together. Native speakers use collocations all the time, and when you learn them, your English becomes smoother, more accurate, and more fluent. In today’s lesson, we are going to look at common collocations with move.

The word move is extremely useful in English. We use it when we talk about changing position, changing house, taking action, making progress or even changing feelings or opinions. That means it appears in many everyday expressions, from casual conversation to formal English.

Let’s look at some useful collocations with move, together with meanings and example sentences.

1. A good move / a bad move / a smart move / a clever move

These expressions describe a decision or action.

A good move

Meaning: a wise or helpful decision.

Taking an umbrella was a good move because it started raining just after we left the house.

A bad move

Meaning: a poor or unwise decision.

Ignoring the manager’s advice turned out to be a bad move, and the whole project failed within a few weeks.

A smart move

Meaning: an intelligent and practical decision.

Saving some money before leaving his job was a smart move, especially since it took him months to find a new one.

A clever move

Meaning: an action that shows intelligence or strategy.

It was a clever move to stay calm during the argument because it stopped the situation from getting worse.

2. Make a move

Meaning 1: to start moving.

Meaning 2: to take action.

Meaning 3: to leave a place.

When the lights suddenly went out, Judith was too frightened to make a move.

If we want to catch the last train, we should make a move now.

Nobody in the meeting wanted to make a move until the director had spoken.

3. Make the first move

Meaning: to be the first person to take action, especially in relationships, business, or difficult situations.

Neither side wanted to make the first move, so the negotiations remained stuck for days.

He liked her very much, but he was too shy to make the first move.

4. Move back to

Meaning: to return to a place where you lived before.

After living abroad for several years, Emma decided to move back to Manchester and start a small business there.

He moved back to his parents’ house while looking for a new flat.

5. Move away from

Meaning: to go further from a person, place, or thing; also used figuratively to mean changing from an old habit, system, or idea.

The visitors were told to move away from the lion’s cage for safety reasons.

Figurative example:

Many schools are beginning to move away from traditional teaching methods and use more interactive approaches.

6. Move house

Meaning: to leave one home and go to live in another. This is a very common British English expression.

We’re moving house next month, so everything is in boxes and the place is in complete chaos.

They moved house to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

7. Move to

Meaning: to go and live in another place.

My cousin moved to Bristol last year and says she absolutely loves the city.

They moved to the countryside because they wanted a quieter life.

8. Move towards

Meaning: to go in the direction of something; it can also mean progress gradually towards a goal or change.

She slowly moved towards the door, trying not to make any noise.

Figurative example:

The company is moving towards a more flexible working model.

9. Move in

Meaning: to start living in a new home.

We’re moving in on Saturday, so we’re spending the whole week cleaning and unpacking.

Their new neighbours moved in just before Christmas.

10. Move out

Meaning: to leave the place where you have been living.

He moved out of his parents’ house when he was twenty-three and got a flat of his own.

Our tenants are moving out at the end of the month.

11. Move in with someone

Meaning: to begin living in the same home as another person.

After dating for two years, she decided to move in with her boyfriend.

When his health got worse, he moved in with his daughter.

12. Move on

Meaning 1: to continue to the next thing.

Meaning 2: to leave the past behind and begin a new stage of life.

Let’s move on to the next question.

It took her a long time to move on after the end of the relationship.

13. Move on from

Meaning: to recover from something and stop allowing it to control your thoughts or feelings.

He still talks about the mistake he made years ago, but everyone else has moved on from it.

You need time to move on from disappointment, but eventually life carries you forward.

14. Move up

Meaning: to go higher in position, rank, or level.

She worked hard for years and gradually moved up in the company.

This class is for students who are ready to move up to the next level.

15. Move up the ladder

Meaning: to become more successful in your job or career.

He was ambitious and determined to move up the ladder as quickly as possible.

Good communication skills can help you move up the career ladder.

16. Move down

Meaning: to go to a lower position, level, or place.

The sofa was too large for the room upstairs, so we had to move it down again.

Figurative example:

The team moved down to third place after losing two matches in a row.

17. Move around

Meaning: to travel from place to place or change position often.

My uncle was in the army, so the family had to move around a lot when the children were young.

If you sit all day at work, it’s important to get up and move around regularly.

18. Move freely

Meaning: to be able to move without restriction.

After weeks in plaster, she was finally able to move freely again.

The animals should have enough space to move freely.

19. Move into action

Meaning: to begin doing something, especially after waiting or planning.

As soon as the fire alarm rang, the staff moved into action and guided everyone out of the building.

The charity moved into action immediately after the flood.

20. Move into a new phase

Meaning: to begin a different stage of development.

After months of planning, the project is finally moving into a new phase.

Their relationship seems to be moving into a more serious phase.

21. Move in the right direction

Meaning: to make progress or improvement.

The changes are small, but they are definitely a move in the right direction.

Passing the exam was a big move in the right direction for her career.

22. Move forward

Meaning: to make progress or continue after difficulty.

We cannot change the past, so we simply have to move forward.

The team is ready to move forward with the new plan.

23. Move forward with something

Meaning: to continue with a plan, proposal, or decision.

After a long discussion, they decided to move forward with the idea.

The school is moving forward with plans to build a new library.

24. Move closer to

Meaning: to get nearer physically or figuratively.

As the storm moved closer to the coast, people were warned to stay indoors.

Figurative example:

She is moving closer to achieving her dream of becoming a doctor.

25. Be on the move

Meaning: to be travelling or active; not staying in one place for long.

My brother’s job keeps him on the move, so he rarely spends more than a few days in the same city.

Young children are always on the move and full of energy.

26. Keep on the move

Meaning: to continue moving from place to place or remain busy.

We kept on the move all day while sightseeing and were completely exhausted by the evening.

In dangerous situations, soldiers are often told to keep on the move.

27. Watch someone’s every move

Meaning: to observe someone very closely.

Since the scandal broke, the journalists have been watching the politician’s every move.

Parents of toddlers often have to watch their children’s every move.

28. Follow someone’s every move

Meaning: to monitor or copy everything someone does.

The younger players followed the captain’s every move, hoping to learn from his experience.

Celebrities often complain that photographers follow their every move.

29. Get a move on

Meaning: to hurry up.

This is a very common and natural expression in everyday English.

Get a move on, or we’ll miss the beginning of the film.

The teacher told the students to get a move on because the exam was about to start.

30. Move heaven and earth

Meaning: to do everything possible to achieve something.

Her parents moved heaven and earth to find the best treatment for her.

I’ll move heaven and earth to make this event a success.

31. Move mountains

Meaning: to do something extremely difficult.

A good leader can inspire ordinary people to move mountains.

It felt as if we had to move mountains just to get the paperwork approved.

32. Be moved to tears

Meaning: to become so emotional that you cry.

She was deeply moved to tears by the speech at the end of the ceremony.

I was moved to tears by the kindness they showed him.

33. Be moved by something

Meaning: to feel strong emotion because of something.

Everyone in the audience was moved by the story of his childhood.

I was really moved by her honesty and courage.

34. Move someone to do something

Meaning: to cause someone to feel or act in a certain way.

His suffering moved many people to donate money to the charity.

The article moved her to rethink her attitude towards the issue.

35. Move with the times

Meaning: to change and adapt to modern ideas or developments.

Some schools need to move with the times and accept that technology is now part of everyday learning.

A successful business must move with the times if it wants to survive.

36. Move as one

Meaning: to move together in a coordinated way.

The dancers moved as one, creating a beautiful and powerful performance.

The crowd suddenly moved as one towards the exit.

Why learn collocations with move?

Learning collocations helps you sound more natural in English, understand native speakers more easily, improve your speaking and writing and remember vocabulary in chunks rather than single words.

Instead of learning only the verb move, try to learn full expressions such as:

• make a move
• move house
• move on
• be on the move
• get a move on
• move in the right direction
• move heaven and earth

That is how vocabulary becomes truly useful.

Final thoughts

The verb move is one of those everyday English words that appears in dozens of natural expressions. Some collocations are literal, such as move house or move towards. Others are figurative, such as move on, move forward, or move heaven and earth.

Try to choose five or six expressions from this lesson and write your own example sentences. That is one of the best ways to remember them and start using them confidently.

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