encounter
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
noun
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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
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encounteredsimple
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had encounteredperfect
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was encounteringprogressive
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were encounteringprogressive
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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:
The encounter was the two men's first since September last year and only lasted about 30 minutes.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
But the competition also provided the occasion for an unusually direct encounter between foreigners and the country the world loves to hate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Of all the things I expected to encounter between the heirloom tomatoes and artisanal honey, rendered animal fat marketed as skincare wasn’t one of them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
These locations often involve an encounter with atmospheres that feel emotionally, symbolically or existentially charged.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
In his first encounter with Matulovic, Bobby ignored the Yugoslav’s mischievous disregard of the rules and lost the game.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
It was what a competent law enforcement organization should do after repeated fatal encounters.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
He first encounters Fricker’s odd character in Central Park, dressed in oversized, dirty clothing with city birds resting on her head and shoulders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Even if the boundaries can sometimes feel flexible, conservationists emphasize that the islands’ broader system of protections helps preserve the Galápagos’ biodiversity and the wildlife encounters that draw around 200,000 visitors annually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
That means the body should already have a head start if it encounters Ebolavirus for real.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
As far as I knew, no riddles were involved in mythological encounters with lamassu, but there was probably some extremely high level taarofing.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
They later also encountered restrictions on their movements as they travelled between their training base and group matches in Los Angeles and Seattle.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
After studying terrestrial wildlife, he visited coastal fishing communities in 2018 and encountered what scientists describe as one of the world's least-known conservation crises.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
What’s more depressing is that a research biologist interviewed by KING-TV, Seattle’s NBC affiliate, stated that the beached whales people have encountered likely represent only a quarter to a fifth of the total death toll.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Down the block, at Anita Gelato, an international chain founded in 1998 that now also has a devout fro-yo following, I encountered another line of people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The main difference this time was that they encountered three groups as they went along.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
According to the lawsuit, Walker began filming immigration agents in late March, after encountering a woman being detained in the San Francisco airport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Categorised services must have systems in place to prevent users from encountering fraudulent ads and swiftly remove reported content.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The study states that the false belief has led "to negative consequences, including misinformed risk‐taking by those encountering snakes, unwarranted fear among snakebite victims, and inappropriate care delivered by misinformed or patient/family‐pressured medical professionals."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
But Kenya’s effort to modernize the system is encountering teething problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Bush had asked Ernest to take on a roving brief for the committee, injecting himself into any area encountering problems as “a sort of fire department.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
