If you’ve ever typed out collocate when you meant colocate, you’re not alone. Both spellings are real words, but they are used in different contexts. Collocate is the standard term for words that commonly occur together in language, while colocate (also spelled co-locate) means to place things in the same location or close together.
The short answer
Use colocate when you’re talking about putting two or more things in the same place or sharing a location. Use collocate when you’re talking about words and phrases that often appear together, like heavy rain.
What does colocate mean?
Merriam-Webster defines colocate as a verb meaning to locate two or more things together or be located together. The same entry lists co-located as a variant spelling. Dictionary.com offers a similar definition: to locate or be located jointly or together, and it lists co-locate as an alternative spelling.
What does collocate mean?
In linguistics, collocate describes words or phrases that are often used together. Cambridge Dictionary defines it as the way words and phrases are often used together in a way that sounds correct to people who have spoken the language all their lives. Merriam-Webster’s entry for collocate also focuses on this linguistic sense, while Collins Dictionary still records an older, more general meaning: to set or place together, especially side by side.
Pronunciation
Dictionary notes make a clear pronunciation split. Colocate and co-locate are pronounced coh-LOW-cate, while the older collocate is pronounced CAHL-uh-cate (or CAW-luh-cate). You can see this distinction in notes from TimesMojo and Canadian writing tips.
Examples in context
If two server rooms are colocated, they are housed in the same facility. In linguistics, strong collocates with tea, meaning the two words are commonly used together. A more everyday example is heavy rain: heavy and rain are words that people naturally pair, so heavy is a collocate of rain.
How to remember the difference
Think of the shared letter o in colocate and location; if the meaning involves a location, use colocate. If you’re talking about word combinations, use collocate.
Which spelling should you choose?
When you mean “place together” or “share a location,” choose colocate or the hyphenated co-locate; both are listed in dictionaries. When you mean words that commonly occur together, choose collocate. Keeping these two meanings separate will help you avoid the most common mix-ups.