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.
-
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)
-
encounters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
encountered,
past participle, past
-
encountering
present participle
noun
-
encounters
plural
-
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 encountertherapy.
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 with
he 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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
encountersimple
-
encounterssimple
-
have encounteredperfect
-
has encounteredperfect
-
am encounteringprogressive
-
are encounteringprogressive
-
is encounteringprogressive
-
have been encounteringperfect progressive
-
has been encounteringperfect progressive
Past
-
encounteredsimple
-
had encounteredperfect
-
was encounteringprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Fears and Phobias," Vocabulary from the article
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Much Ado About Nothing
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
For pest control, however, the same behavior could become an advantage if it helps a treatment reach termites that never directly encounter treated wood.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Thiago Pitarch, who was 18 at the start of last season, played for Castilla in a Premier League International Cup encounter against Southampton in October, and made 16 senior appearances across the campaign.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Only through a renewed encounter with Athens, Jerusalem and Rome can we recover the intellectual and moral glue that binds a society together despite technological and cultural changes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Mills Jnr gave evidence and claimed the initial encounter was a "chance meeting" with a family friend.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Glory went over every detail of their encounter with the Moon Witch.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
There have been around 1,300 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which more than 260 resulted in death, according to a database of their encounters with humans.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Bettman said Melrose left his mark on the sport “during those countless encounters over the years with players, coaches, fans and viewers who couldn’t help but be drawn in by his enthusiasm.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
"I've been quite lucky not to have too many physical encounters whenever I've been playing, but one did stand out to me."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Together, these forces influence how resilient the relationship becomes when it encounters stress or conflict.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
After what felt like an eternity of pushing and shoving and enough up-close-and-personal encounters with body odor to last a lifetime, I was finally outside in the mercifully fresh air.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Perhaps the most intriguing result involved what happened after only part of a group encountered bistrifluron.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Birmingham-based content creator GB Street Stories has also encountered and filmed riders in the city.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Early European colonists in North America and the indigenous communities they encountered each tried to gain the advantage in meetings friendly and otherwise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
What comes after is often preposterous and teeming with cliches — the sort of things you might have encountered in a second-tier series back in the 1980s — and craziness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
If I hadn’t been in shock, I might have had the wherewithal to turn a cold shoulder to the person I next encountered: Traft Martin.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Notice how AI doomers can seem like gaffed flounders when encountering a non-pilled reporter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Last year, Michael Johnson's inaugural Grand Slam Track league attempted to maintain focus on the sport following Paris 2024 while offering lucrative prize money, but ended after encountering serious financial issues.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
He’s streamlined the drama to an hour and 40 minutes and cut and combined some characters, though he promises that audiences will be encountering “the whole play.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
She says she finds herself encountering authorities more often in Hong Kong than in mainland China.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
While modern classical music had its challenges, older music was encountering its own difficulties in the twentieth century, despite - or indeed because of - an explosion in recordings in the 1960s.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
