encounter

[en-koun-ter]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR encounter ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to come upon or meet with, especially unexpectedly: to encounter a new situation.

to meet with or contend against (difficulties, opposition, etc.): We encounter so many problems in our work.

to meet (a person, military force, etc.) in conflict: We will encounter the enemy at dawn.

verb (used without object)

to meet, especially unexpectedly or in conflict: We were angry when we encountered, but we parted with smiles.

noun

a meeting with a person or thing, especially a casual, unexpected, or brief meeting: Our running into each other was merely a chance encounter.

a meeting of persons or groups that are in conflict or opposition; combat; battle: Another such encounter and we may lose the war.

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 (encounter therapy).

Origin of encounter

1250–1300; Middle English encountren < Anglo-French enco(u)ntrer; Old French < Vulgar Latin *incontrāre, equivalent to in- in-¹ + -contrāre, derivative of contrā against; see counter³

Related formsen·coun·ter·er, nounpre·en·coun·ter, noun, verb (used with object)re·en·coun·ter, verb, nounun·en·coun·tered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for encountered

detect, confront, experience, face, bear, meet, suffer, find, engage, collide, espy, sustain, descry, front, close, undergo, contend, affront, combat, grapple

Examples from the Web for encountered

Contemporary Examples of encountered

Lalo insisted during a recent interview that they encountered Chito “and his people by accident.”
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro
Bill Conroy
January 6, 2015
We have no information yet on what other flights were in the air then, and what they encountered.
Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501?
Clive Irving
December 29, 2014
His later books drew heavily from experiences and people he encountered at the bar, including the cruel captain in The Sea-Wolf.
The Bars That Made America Great
Nina Strochlic
December 28, 2014
It was neither the best nor worst pickup line I encountered that evening.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for Shots
Emily Shire
December 26, 2014
He encountered struggles that many foreign newcomers face upon beginning a new life in America.
Cuban Hip-Hop Was Born in Alamar
Daniel Levin
December 26, 2014

Historical Examples of encountered

During this session other difficulties were encountered by the Ministry.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
There, on the contrary, we encountered the only two swamps at all difficult.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia
Thomas Mitchell
She did not see him in the morning, but at noon she encountered him in the hall.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
But now, strange to say, wherever she went she encountered Felicien!
The Dream
Emile Zola
And then, when he had slipped his hand back into hers, he had encountered a sticky chocolate!
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine

British Dictionary definitions for encountered

encounter

verb

to come upon or meet casually or unexpectedly

to come into conflict with (an enemy, army, etc) in battle or contest

(tr) to be faced with; contend withhe encounters many obstacles in his work

noun

a meeting with a person or thing, esp when casual or unexpected

a hostile meeting; contest or conflict

Derived Formsencounterer, noun

Word Origin for encounter

C13: from Old French encontrer, from Vulgar Latin incontrāre (unattested), from Latin in- ² + contrā against, opposite

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for encountered

encounter

c.1300, "to meet as an adversary," from Old French encontrer "confront," from encontre (see encounter (n.). Weakened sense of "casually meet" first recorded in English early 16c. Related: Encountered; encountering.

encounter

c.1300, "meeting of adversaries, confrontation," from Old French encontre "meeting; fight; opportunity," noun use of preposition/adverb encontre "against, counter to" from Late Latin incontra "in front of," from Latin in- "in" (see in- (2)) + contra "against" (see contra). Modern use of the word in psychology is from 1967, from the work of U.S. psychologist Carl Rogers (1902-1987). Encounter group attested from 1967.