Collocations for role - noun

lead, leading, starring, title
He has the starring role in the movie.
She sings the title role in Tosca.

big
Lee began to get big roles in movies.

principal
dramatic
meaty, substantial
the chance to sink her teeth into the meaty role of femme fatale Margaret

plum
This is the plum role in the play.

small
supporting
lesser
comic, tragic
female, male
a starring female role

cameo
stereotypical
one of his stereotypical action hero roles

thankless
Ethan Hawke does a solid job in a thankless role.

film (esp. BrE), movie (esp. AmE), television, TV

assume, perform, play, take
In the series, Smith assumes the role of the go-between.
John's playing the leading role in this year's play.

underplay
Walken carefully underplays the role.

fill
The supporting roles are filled by British actors.

reprise
Most of the original cast are reprising their roles.

handle
Sbaraglia handles this difficult role well.

get, land, win
It took her three years to land her first film role.

cast sb in
interpret
She interprets the role as more tragic than I expected.

dance, sing
Dean Ely sings the title role.

in the role (of)
He was very good in the role.

big, huge, large, substantial
Small businesses have a substantial role to play in keeping the economy buoyant.

important, influential, instrumental, integral, powerful, prominent, significant, special
an area where national rivalries play a powerful role

central, dominant, key, lead, leading, main, major, pivotal, primary
Migrant workers played a central role in the state's prosperity.

critical, crucial, decisive, essential, fundamental, vital
Economic factors played a decisive role in the outcome of the war.

useful
expanded, greater, increased
the expanded role of the federal government

diminished, limited, small
the limited role of women in the church

minor, secondary, subordinate, subservient
backup, supporting
He may have to settle for a backup role.

constructive, full (esp. BrE), meaningful, positive, useful, valuable
active, proactive
passive
direct
clear, defined, distinct, exact, particular, specific, unique
Every member of staff must have a clear role.
the specific role of calcium in preventing disease

different, dual, multiple, various
She has a dual role as principal and French teacher.
Many staff perform multiple roles.

traditional
changing
conflicting
her conflicting roles as mother and manager of a large company

advisory, consultative, managerial, regulatory, supervisory
leadership
maternal, parental, parenting, paternal
protective
Their brother plays a protective role.

caregiving (AmE)
The caregiving role is still overwhelmingly a female one.

economic, educational, military, peacekeeping, political, social, strategic
the economic role of small towns
Adult education often serves an important social role.

symbolic
possible, potential
Supervising elections is a possible role for the UN.

gender
essays that question gender roles in a patriarchal culture

female, male
the views prevalent in society about female roles

have, occupy, perform, play, serve
Regional managers occupy a crucial role in developing a strategic framework.

provide
provide sb/sth with
adopt, assume, take, take on
I've had to take on the role of mother in her absence.

accept
I accepted the executive editor role at the magazine.
They have to be willing to accept their roles as caregivers and not managers.

resume
embrace, relish
She embraced her role as ruler of the country.

fulfil/fulfill
The fighting has prevented the UN troops from fulfilling their role as peacekeepers.

fill
He filled several governmental roles.

handle
We are waiting to see if he can handle an expanded role.

carve out, establish
He is trying to carve out a new role for himself.

assign sb, cast sb in, give sb
He has been cast in the role of chief apologist for the government.

reverse
Traditional gender roles are reversed in their household.

find
We need to find a useful role for the volunteers in the campaign.

clarify, define, elucidate, redefine
a clearly defined role within the group

analyse/analyze, assess, evaluate, examine, explore, investigate
The paper examines the role of various institutions.

emphasize, highlight, stress
The authors emphasized the role of the slave trade in the economic development of the New World.

understand
We need to better understand the role of cold regions in the global climate system.

acknowledge, appreciate, recognize
Politicians acknowledge the key roles that young people play in the country.

determine, identify
We will meet with them to determine individual roles.

address
He addressed the role of tradition in design.

downplay
Thomas downplays the role of these letters as historical evidence.

expand
They decided to expand the role that new technologies play at the hospital.

increase, strengthen
He is looking for ways to strengthen his role in the business.

fit
I feel I can fit any role this team needs me to.

swap (esp. BrE), switch

model
reversal
expectation (esp. AmE)
methods for exploring gender role expectations

conflict (esp. AmE)
This role conflict can quickly escalate.

in a/the role
She has joined the team in a consultative role.

role as
the teacher's role as instructor

role at
He assumed a conspicuous role at the new arts agency.

role for
The new prime minister promised a greater role for women in government.

role in, role within
Pressure groups played a major role in bringing about the reforms.
the opportunity to assume a leadership role within your organization