Encounter

/ɪnˈkaʊntə/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly.
2. (transitive) To confront (someone or something) face to face.
3. (intransitive, rare) To meet one another.
4. (intransitive) To engage in conflict, as with an enemy.
5. (transitive, euphemistic, India) To kill or execute someone extrajudicially.
6. A meeting, especially one that is unplanned or unexpected.
7. A hostile, often violent meeting; a confrontation, skirmish, or clash, as between combatants.
8. (sports) A match between two opposing sides.

Example Sentences

It fits Ioues ſonne / VVraſtle vvith Lyons, and to tugge vvith Beares, / Grapple vvith Dragons, and incounter VVhales.

H' incounters Talgol, routs the Bear, / And takes the Fidler Prisoner; / Conveys him to enchanted Castle, / There shuts him fast in wooden Bastile.

It ran derailed for about 500 yards before encountering a set of points, which caused it to veer into the path of an Immingham-Ferrybridge coal train, powered by Freightliner 66521 (one of a class of locomotive well-known for being well-built enough to destroy anything that got in its way).

[…] yet when the brother and the sister had encountered, according to the set appointment, none of these impassionedments had been repeated.

Three armies encountered at Waterloo.

Techelles, and the reſt prepare your ſwordes: I meane to incounter with that Baiazeth.

I will encounter with Andronicus.

Speaking to the media, Reddy said, "He (Accused in 6-year-old rape and murder case) should be encountered. We will nab the accused and will encounter him. We will stand by the victim's family. We console them and will provide aid to the family. We will encounter him (the accused)."

Synonyms for encounter

Antonyms for encounter

Related Words

Word Forms

• encounters
• encountering
• encountered
• encountre
• incountre
• incounter

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions