I.
noun
1 ( esp. BrE ) in sports
ADJECTIVE
▪ boxing ( BrE , AmE ), chess ( BrE , AmE ), football ( BrE ), rugby ( BrE ), soccer (usually football match in BrE and soccer game in AmE ) , tennis ( BrE , AmE ), wrestling ( BrE , AmE ), etc.
▪ final , quarter-final , semi-final
▪
He almost made it to the final ~.
▪ friendly (= not part of a competition) ( BrE )
▪ away , home (both BrE )
▪
Some fans travel miles to go to away ~es.
▪ grudge
▪
a grudge ~ between two of the best teams in the league
▪ big , crucial , important
▪ exciting , thrilling
▪ title
▪ championship , competitive , cup ( BrE ), league ( BrE )
▪ sparring
▪
We were just having a little verbal sparring ~. ( figurative )
▪ screaming , shouting ( figurative )
▪
The two of them then got into a shouting ~ ( = an argument with a lot of shouting ).
VERB + MATCH
▪ play
▪
The ~ will be played in the new stadium.
▪ have
▪
The team had an excellent ~.
▪ go to , see , watch
▪ be defeated in , lose
▪ clinch , win
▪
A late goal clinched the ~ for Porto.
▪ draw ( BrE ), tie ( AmE )
▪
We drew our first ~ of the season 1–1.
▪
Lubov fought back to tie the ~.
▪ level ( esp. BrE )
▪
They managed to level the ~, then went 2–1 ahead.
MATCH + VERB
▪ take place
PREPOSITION
▪ during a/the ~
▪
an incident which took place during Saturday's ~
▪ in a/the ~
▪
She was injured in last week's ~.
▪ ~ against
▪
the ~ against Wales
▪ ~ between
▪
the ~ between Japan and Brazil
▪ ~ with
▪
They lost their ~ with Estonia.
2 for lighting a fire
ADJECTIVE
▪ lighted , lit ( esp. AmE )
… OF MATCHES
▪ book , box
VERB + MATCH
▪ light , strike
▪
He lit a ~ so they could see in the cave.
▪ blow out
PHRASES
▪ put a ~ to sth
▪
Someone had put a ~ to the pile of papers.
3 good combination
ADJECTIVE
▪ excellent , good , perfect
▪
The blouse and skirt are a perfect ~.
▪
Freddie and Kate are a perfect ~.
VERB + MATCH
▪ find , make
▪
Our job is to find the right ~ for our clients.
▪
This fabric makes a good ~ for the wallpaper.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ between
▪
an excellent ~ between our goals and what your company offers
▪ ~ for
▪
That sweater should be a good ~ for your skirt.
PHRASES
▪ meet your ~ (= meet someone equally good, strong, etc.)
▪
I think he's finally met his ~ in Lisa.
▪ the right ~
▪
You need to feel confident that the candidate is the right ~.
4 sth the same
ADJECTIVE
▪ exact
VERB + MATCH
▪ find
▪
She has a rare blood type, and finding a ~ could take years.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ for
▪
To forge the certificate, she needed an exact ~ for the paper and the fonts.
II.
verb
1 combine well with sb/sth
ADVERB
▪ well
▪
As a couple they are not very well ~ed (= they are not very suitable for each other) .
▪ nicely , perfectly
▪
The music perfectly ~es the tone of the movie.
▪ exactly , precisely
▪
They found a paint that exactly ~ed the existing paint on the walls.
▪ closely
▪
He chose wine that closely ~ed each dish.
▪
The students' results closely ~ed their predicted scores.
▪ not quite
▪
The room was full of old furniture that didn't quite ~.
PHRASES
▪ to ~
▪
I bought a duvet cover and some curtains to ~.
2 find sth similar/connected
ADVERB
▪ carefully
▪ correctly
▪ up
▪
We have to ~ up the right pet with the right owner.
VERB + MATCH
▪ seek to , try to
PREPOSITION
▪ for
▪
The control group in the experiment was ~ed for age and sex.
▪ to
▪
The aim of the competition is to ~ the quote to the person who said it.
▪
The available organs are carefully ~ed to people in need of transplants.
▪ with
▪
The agency tries to ~ single people with suitable partners.
3 be/make sth equal/better
ADVERB
▪ almost , nearly
▪
She found that his determination almost ~ed her own.
▪ not quite
▪
Nothing quite ~es the fine, subtle taste of this cheese.
▪ rarely
▪
Her lovers rarely ~ her wit and intelligence.
VERB + MATCH
▪ be able to , be unable to
▪
The company was unable to ~ his current salary.
▪ try to
▪ fail to
▪
Children can be made to suffer when they fail to ~ their parents' expectations.
PREPOSITION
▪ for
▪
No other rock band comes even close to ~ing their talent.
PHRASES
▪ come close to ~ing
▪ be equally ~ed , be evenly ~ed , be well ~ed
▪
The teams were very evenly ~ed.
▪ be unevenly ~ed
Match is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ colour
Match is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ background , ↑ colour , ↑ description , ↑ dress , ↑ expectation , ↑ feat , ↑ fingerprint , ↑ finish , ↑ mood , ↑ offer , ↑ pair , ↑ personality , ↑ profile , ↑ prowess , ↑ record , ↑ requirement , ↑ scale , ↑ size , ↑ skill , ↑ splendour , ↑ stride , ↑ taste , ↑ tone , ↑ wit