encounter
Americanverb (used with object)
-
encounters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
encountered,
past participle, past
-
encountering
present participle
-
to come upon or meet with, especially unexpectedly.
to encounter a new situation.
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to meet with or contend against (difficulties, opposition, etc.).
We encounter so many problems in our work.
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to meet (a person, military force, etc.) in conflict.
We will encounter the enemy at dawn.
verb (used without object)
-
encounters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
encountered,
past participle, past
-
encountering
present participle
noun
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encounters
plural
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a meeting with a person or thing, especially a casual, unexpected, or brief meeting.
Our running into each other was merely a chance encounter.
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a meeting of persons or groups that are in conflict or opposition; combat; battle.
Another such encounter and we may lose the war.
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Psychology. a meeting of two or more people, as the members of an encounter group or a number of married couples marriage encounter, conducted to promote direct emotional confrontations among the participants, especially as a form of therapy encountertherapy.
verb
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to come upon or meet casually or unexpectedly
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to come into conflict with (an enemy, army, etc) in battle or contest
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(tr) to be faced with; contend with
he encounters many obstacles in his work
noun
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a meeting with a person or thing, esp when casual or unexpected
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a hostile meeting; contest or conflict
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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encountersimple
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encounterssimple
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have encounteredperfect
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has encounteredperfect
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am encounteringprogressive
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are encounteringprogressive
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is encounteringprogressive
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have been encounteringperfect progressive
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has been encounteringperfect progressive
Past
-
encounteredsimple
-
had encounteredperfect
-
was encounteringprogressive
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were encounteringprogressive
-
had been encounteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of encounter
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English encountren, from Anglo-French enco(u)ntrer, from Vulgar Latin incontrāre (unrecorded), equivalent to in- in- 1 + -contrāre, verb suffix derived from contrā “against”; see counter 3
Explanation
If you run into that cute guy (or girl) from the local deli when you’re at the grocery store and you stop to chat, you’ve just had an encounter, which is a casual meeting, often resulting by chance. When you encounter the word encounter, context will tell you if it’s acting as a verb or a noun. The sentence “When Spencer and Susanna encounter a bear on the trail, they stand very still” illustrates the verb form. “The encounter in the subway left her wishing she had stayed at home” shows the noun form. Whether acting as a verb or a noun, the word carries the connotation of “chance meeting." You don’t plan an encounter; it just happens.
Vocabulary lists containing encounter
Against All Odds: Contra and Counter
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"Fears and Phobias," Vocabulary from the article
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Much Ado About Nothing
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If this is your first encounter with Kaczynski, the movie hands you a clean origin story and calls it a day.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Roberts, who has been following the developments, reflected on her conflicting encounter with Pike and how it had stayed with her as both a journalist and a human being.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Other firefighters on the ground said they did not encounter hot spots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
They would have needed to encounter one another often enough to interact while also surviving a hot, acidic, and chemically challenging environment.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
She possessed eyes whose gaze I delighted to encounter.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Though many residents share a love for the wild burros, others see them as a public safety risk due to the possibility of car crashes, property damage or injuries during close encounters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
One occurs relatively close to the galaxy, where the jet first encounters the CGM.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
But while the comet itself is a rare visitor, the Earth encounters material left behind by it twice a year, resulting in the Eta Aquariid meteor shower in May and the Orionids in October.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Frustration with online dating in Japan is fueling a surge in business for matchmaking services, whose ads in the Tokyo subway advise singles to “leave life’s fateful encounters to the pros.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
He enjoyed playing over what are called miniature games, short encounters of usually twenty moves or less, as if they were musical exercises, works of art unto themselves, usually with only one pervasive idea.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
The teacher took him to the library, where El-Sayed encountered writers like W.E.B.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
She encountered a queue that ballooned to over 80,000 people—the longest in the museum’s history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
"To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances," said the AI version of Pelkey in court in 2025.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Opera Chief Executive Christopher Koelsch began about 10 years ago, after Koelsch first encountered Martínez Celaya’s work at an L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
On the way to the H Street boardinghouse, Booth and Mudd encountered John Surratt on the street and the introduction took place.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
The cast agree that the drama will appeal to both fans of the original and audiences encountering it for the first time.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
As more than two million freshmen arrive at college this fall, many are encountering civic-dialogue programs—an effort to build bridges across political divides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
National Fire Chiefs Council says half of UK fire services surveyed reported "frequently" encountering "insufficient flow"
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Notice how AI doomers can seem like gaffed flounders when encountering a non-pilled reporter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
“Have the nicest evening, Pinktail. I shall look forward to the pleasure of encountering you again in the future. Soon, I hope. Farewell.”
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
