v. t. | 1. | To come against face to face; to meet; to confront, either by chance, suddenly, or deliberately; especially, to meet in opposition or with hostile intent; to engage in conflict with; to oppose; to struggle with; |
v. i. | 1. | To meet face to face; to have a meeting; to meet, esp. as enemies; to engage in combat; to fight; |
n. | 1. | A meeting face to face; a running against; a sudden or incidental meeting; an interview. |
2. | A meeting, with hostile purpose; hence, a combat; a battle; |
Noun | 1. | encounter - a minor short-term fight |
2. | encounter - a casual or unexpected convergence; "he still remembers their meeting in Paris"; "there was a brief encounter in the hallway" Synonyms: meeting | |
3. | encounter - a casual meeting with a person of thing Synonyms: coming upon | |
4. | encounter - a hostile disagreement face-to-face | |
Verb | 1. | encounter - come together; "I'll probably see you at the meeting"; "How nice to see you again!" |
2. | encounter - come upon, as if by accident; meet with; "We find this idea in Plato"; "I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not very far from here"; "She chanced upon an interesting book in the bookstore the other day" | |
3. | encounter - be beset by; "The project ran into numerous financial difficulties" Synonyms: run into | |
4. | encounter - experience as a reaction; "My proposal met with much opposition" | |
5. | encounter - contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle; "Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to play Mary" |