Collocations for territory - noun

vast
new
The explorers set off to conquer new territories.

former
former French territories

neighbouring/neighboring, surrounding
home, national
alien, foreign, overseas
enemy, hostile
friendly
neutral
colonial, dependent (esp. BrE), trust (esp. BrE)
a UN trust territory administered by New Zealand

sovereign
Troops were stationed on sovereign German territory.

annexed, conquered, lost, occupied
a town in British-occupied territory

contested, disputed
familiar, home (both figurative)
The writer is back on home territory with his latest novel.

uncharted, unexplored, unfamiliar, unknown, virgin (all often figurative)
dangerous (often figurative)

hold
annex, capture, conquer, invade, occupy, recapture, take
control, govern, rule
The territory had been controlled by Azerbaijan for many years.

cede, surrender
lose
enter, stray into
The soldiers strayed into hostile territory.

leave
settle
The territory was never densely settled.

stake out (often figurative)
The parties have been staking out their territory on education.

chart, explore, map out (all often figurative)
Tired of writing detective novels, she began to explore new territory.

cover (often figurative)
Many books have covered this territory before.

breeding, nesting

defend, patrol, protect
establish, mark, mark out
The male establishes a territory and attracts a female.