encounter
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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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
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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:
Astronomers around the world observed the extreme encounter, and the event was presented at the AAS conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
You have to ask, “what are we doing to the planet and does that mean we will encounter more diseases?” said Janet Foley, a disease ecologist at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Most of the time, even if an encounter begins because of obligation, it quickly becomes enjoyable and we move beyond it.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Alex says she tried to dismiss what happened, but she now believes the hotel encounter had been "all planned out".
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
I set an alarm on my cell and recount to Rue today’s encounter with Zora and last night’s dinner.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
"Everyone's had those relationships and encounters," she added.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
It can attach to the first molecule it encounters, even if that molecule would not normally be the preferred electron recipient based on its ability to stabilize the added electron.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
Civilian video has also played a significant role in challenging official accounts of other controversial immigration enforcement encounters.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
He also makes children’s toys that he distributes to any children on the block or that he encounters out and about.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Leaving the fortune-teller’s tent and heading right, as she had suggested, Bailey almost immediately encounters a small crowd watching a performance.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Laura encountered Levy while with a friend travelling to the Notting Hill Carnival on the London Underground in August 2018.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
He is an amalgamation of several people the real Bourdain encountered in kitchens with an added layer of soulfulness that Banderas fully embodies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
It was on this second outing that the teens encountered Byrd and Roberts.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Kusman was hired as a labourer on the Cavustepe excavations after his military service in the 1960s and there encountered his first stele.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
How they would sing praises of his valiant stand against what must assuredly be the largest great black-backed gull ever encountered!
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Thus far, this is not a problem the city reports encountering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Reuters reported that many migrants who reached Ceuta have already returned to Morocco after encountering overcrowding, food shortages and little prospect of continuing onward into mainland Europe.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
In Kate Christensen’s novel, a writer re-evaluates her life after encountering old acquaintances at her alma mater.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The one player Grottland was sure about from a young age was Odegaard, admitting the whole philosophy of the NTS was inspired by encountering him at 11.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Hunters expanding southward through the Americas, encountering big animals that had never seen humans before, may have found those American animals easy to kill and may have exterminated them.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
