meet
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to come upon; come into the presence of; encounter.
I would meet him on the street at unexpected moments.
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to become acquainted with; be introduced to.
I've never met your cousin.
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to join at an agreed or designated place or time.
Meet me in St. Louis.
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to be present at the arrival of.
to meet a train.
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to come to or before (one's notice, or a means of noticing, as the eyes or ears).
A peculiar sight met my eyes.
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to come into the company of (a person, group, etc.) in dealings, conference, etc.
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to face, eye, etc., directly or without avoidance.
- Synonyms:
- confront
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to come into physical contact, juxtaposition, or collision with.
The two cars met each other head-on at high speed.
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to encounter in opposition, conflict, or contest.
Harvard meets Yale next week in football.
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to oppose.
to meet charges with countercharges.
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to cope or deal effectively with (an objection, difficulty, etc.).
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to comply with; fulfill; answer.
to meet a deadline;
to meet a demand.
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to pay in full.
How will you meet expenses?
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to come into conformity with (wishes, expectations, views, etc.).
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to encounter in experience.
to meet hostility.
verb (used without object)
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to come together, face to face, or into company.
We met on the street.
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to assemble for action, conference, or other common purpose, as a committee, legislature, or class.
The board of directors will meet on Tuesday.
- Synonyms:
- collect
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to become personally acquainted.
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to come into contact or form a junction, as lines, planes, or areas.
The two lines meet to form an angle.
- Antonyms:
- diverge
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to be conjoined or united.
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to concur or agree.
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to come together in opposition or conflict, as adversaries or hostile forces.
noun
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an assembly, as of persons and hounds for a hunt or swimmers or runners for a race or series of races.
a track meet.
- Synonyms:
- competition, contest
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those assembled.
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the place of such an assembling.
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Mathematics. intersection.
verb phrase
idioms
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meet halfway,
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to concede in part, as to the demands of an opposing faction; make concessions, as to another person; compromise.
Despite their differences, the union and the company finally agreed to meet halfway and settle their dispute.
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to anticipate another's actions and conduct oneself accordingly.
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well met, welcome.
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meet cute, cute.
adjective
verb
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to come together (with), either by design or by accident; encounter
I met him unexpectedly
we met at the station
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to come into or be in conjunction or contact with (something or each other)
the roads meet in the town
the sea meets the sky
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(tr) to come to or be at the place of arrival of
to meet a train
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to make the acquaintance of or be introduced to (someone or each other)
have you two met?
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to gather in the company of (someone or each other)
the board of directors meets on Tuesday
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to come into the presence of (someone or each other) as opponents
Joe meets Fred in the boxing match
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(tr) to cope with effectively; satisfy
to meet someone's demands
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(tr) to be apparent to (esp in the phrase meet the eye )
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(tr) to return or counter
to meet a blow with another
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to agree with (someone or each other)
we met him on the price he suggested
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to experience; suffer
he met his death in a road accident
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to occur together
courage and kindliness met in him
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(tr) to find (a person, situation, etc) in a specified condition
I met the door open
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(of a celebrity, politician, etc) to have a session of being introduced to and questioned by members of the public or journalists
noun
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the assembly of hounds, huntsmen, etc, prior to a hunt
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a meeting, esp a sports meeting
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the place where the paths of two railway trains meet or cross
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a session where a celebrity, etc, is introduced to or questioned by members of the public or journalists
adjective
Other Word Forms
- meeter noun
- meetly adverb
- meetness noun
Etymology
Origin of meet1
First recorded before 900; Middle English mete(n), miete(n), Old English (ge)mētan; cognate with Old Norse mœta, Old Saxon mōtian; moot
Origin of meet2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English mete, meete, mette, from Old English gemǣte “suitable,” cognate with German gemäss “suitable, appropriate”
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.
He declined to say what, if anything, was requested at each deadline, or whether there was a threat if the deadlines weren’t met.
From Los Angeles Times
That government charm offensive starts with a reception at No 11 on Monday followed by a strategy meeting at No 10 on Tuesday.
From BBC
Time does a surprising amount of work here, coaxing starches to tenderness and flavors to meet each other halfway.
From Salon
"I along with President Herzog will meet with families of those victims, those innocent lives that were stolen," Albanese told reporters at the weekend.
From Barron's
“It’s good to meet the moment where Americans already gather,” he said.
From MarketWatch
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.
