Meaning & use
encounter
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To meet or come across someone or something, usually without planning to.
Grammar: Takes an object: encounter a bear, never encounter with a bear.
Patterns
- encounter someone
- encounter something
We encountered a group of hikers near the summit.
Travelers may encounter delays at the border.
She first encountered the poem at school.
verbtransitiveformal
To face a difficulty, danger or opposition while trying to do something.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually a problem: encounter resistance.
Patterns
- encounter difficulties
- encounter opposition
The team encountered heavy resistance from local residents.
If you encounter any problems with the form, call this number.
The expedition encountered storms on the way back.
nouncountable
A meeting, often unplanned or brief, with a person, animal or thing, or a clash with an opponent.
Grammar: Countable: a chance encounter, several encounters.
Patterns
- an encounter with someone
- an encounter between people
Their chance encounter in a train station changed both their lives.
He described a frightening encounter with a wild boar.
The first encounter between the two teams ended in a draw.
Word forms
| third person singular | encounters |
|---|---|
| past tense | encountered |
| past participle | encountered |
| -ing form | encountering |
| plural noun | encounters |
Common combinations
- encounter difficulties
- Many beginners encounter difficulties with the grammar at first.
- chance encounter
- A chance encounter at the market led to a job offer.
- encounter resistance
- The new rule encountered resistance from staff.
- close encounter
- The cyclist had a close encounter with a bus.
- brief encounter
- It was only a brief encounter, but I remember it clearly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- meet
- Meet is the everyday word and may be planned, while encounter stresses surprise or something new.
- come across
- Come across is informal and used for finding things or people by accident, whereas encounter sounds more formal.
- run into
- Run into is casual and most natural for unexpectedly meeting someone you know.
- face
- Face stresses having to deal with a problem, while encounter focuses on the moment you meet it.
Opposites
Word family
- encounters noun
- plural of the noun
- encountered verb
- past form of the verb
- counter adverb
- in the opposite direction, from the same Latin root meaning against
- re-encounter verb
- to meet again
Commonly confused: encounter or counter?
encounter vs counter
A counter is a flat surface in a shop or kitchen, or a person or object that counts. It does not mean to meet someone.
Practice
Which sentence uses encounter correctly?
Choose one answer.
Encounter is transitive, so it takes a direct object with no preposition. The other options add a preposition that the verb does not use.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “encounter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.