11 results for: encounter Browse Nearby Entries
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
en·coun·ter    Audio Help   [en-koun-ter] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used with object)
1.to come upon or meet with, esp. unexpectedly: to encounter a new situation.
2.to meet with or contend against (difficulties, opposition, etc.): We encounter so many problems in our work.
3.to meet (a person, military force, etc.) in conflict: We will encounter the enemy at dawn.
–verb (used without object)
4.to meet, esp. unexpectedly or in conflict: We were angry when we encountered, but we parted with smiles.
–noun
5.a meeting with a person or thing, esp. a casual, unexpected, or brief meeting: Our running into each other was merely a chance encounter.
6.a meeting of persons or groups that are in conflict or opposition; combat; battle: Another such encounter and we may lose the war.
7.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, esp. as a form of therapy (encounter therapy).

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME encountren < AF enco(u)ntrer; OF < VL *incontrāre, equiv. to in- in-1 + -contrāre, deriv. of contrā against; see counter3]

en·coun·ter·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
encounter

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
en·coun·ter    Audio Help   (ěn-koun'tər)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A meeting, especially one that is unplanned, unexpected, or brief: a chance encounter in the park.
    1. A hostile or adversarial confrontation; a contest: a tense naval encounter.
    2. An often violent meeting; a clash.

v.   en·coun·tered, en·coun·ter·ing, en·coun·ters

v.   tr.
  1. To meet, especially unexpectedly; come upon: encountered an old friend on the street.
  2. To confront in battle or contention.
  3. To come up against: encounter numerous obstacles.

v.   intr.
To meet, especially unexpectedly.


[Middle English encountre, from Old French, from encontrer, to meet, from Late Latin incontrāre : Latin in-, in; see en-1 + Latin contrā, against; see kom in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
encounter 
1297, "meeting of adversaries," from O.Fr. encountrer "confront," from encontre (prep. and adv.) "against, counter to," from L.L. incontra "in front of," from L. in- "in" + contra "against." Weakened sense of "casually meet" first recorded in Eng. 1520.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
encounter

noun
1. a minor short-term fight [syn: brush
2. a casual or unexpected convergence; "he still remembers their meeting in Paris"; "there was a brief encounter in the hallway" [syn: meeting
3. a casual meeting with a person or thing 
4. a hostile disagreement face-to-face [syn: confrontation

verb
1. come together; "I'll probably see you at the meeting"; "How nice to see you again!" [syn: meet
2. 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" [syn: find
3. be beset by; "The project ran into numerous financial difficulties" [syn: run into
4. experience as a reaction; "My proposal met with much opposition" [syn: meet
5. contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle; "Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to play Mary" [syn: meet

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
encounter1 [inˈkauntə] verb
to meet especially unexpectedly
Example: She encountered the manager in the hall.
Arabic: يُصادِف، يَلْتَقي صُدْفَةً
Chinese (Simplified): 意外地遇见
Chinese (Traditional): 意外地遇見
Czech: setkat se
Danish: træffe; støde på
Dutch: tegenkomen
Estonian: juhuslikult kohtama
Finnish: tavata sattumalta
French: rencontrer
German: begegnen
Greek: συναντώ
Hungarian: összeakad (vkivel)
Icelandic: hitta, mæta
Indonesian: bertemu secara tiba-tiba
Italian: incontrare, imbattersi in*
Japanese: 出会う
Korean: 우연히 만나다
Latvian: (nejauši) sastapt; satikt
Lithuanian: susitikti, susidurti su
Norwegian: møte (tilfeldig), støte på, treffe
Polish: natknąć się na
Portuguese (Brazil): deparar com
Portuguese (Portugal): encontrar
Romanian: a întâlni
Russian: (неожиданно) встретить(ся)
Slovak: stretnúť sa
Slovenian: naleteti na koga
Spanish: encontrarse (con)
Swedish: möta, råka, träffa
Turkish: rastlamak, yüz yüze gelmek
encounter2 [inˈkauntə] verb
to meet with (difficulties etc)
Example: I expect to encounter many difficulties in the course of this job.
Arabic: يُواجِه
Chinese (Simplified): 遇到(困难等)
Chinese (Traditional): 遇到(困難等)
Czech: narazit (na)
Danish: komme ud for; støde på
Dutch: geconfronteerd worden met
Estonian: kohtama
Finnish: kohdata
French: éprouver
German: stoßen auf
Greek: αντιμετωπίζω
Hungarian: találkozik, szembekerül
Icelandic: rekast á; verða fyrir, þurfa að standa andspænis
Indonesian: menghadapi
Italian: incontrare
Japanese: 直面する
Korean: (곤란에) 부닥치다
Latvian: sadurties (ar grūtībām)
Lithuanian: sutikti, susidurti su
Norwegian: møte, *treffe på (vanskeligheter)
Polish: napotkać
Portuguese (Brazil): enfrentar
Portuguese (Portugal): enfrentar
Romanian: a se lovi de
Russian: сталкиваться с
Slovak: naraziť na
Slovenian: naleteti na
Spanish: enfrentarse, toparse (con)
Swedish: möta, råka ut för
Turkish: karşılaşmak, karşı karşıya kalmak
encounter1 [inˈkauntə] noun
a meeting
Example: I feel that I know him quite well, even after a brief encounter.
Arabic: لِقاء غَيْر مُتَوَقَّع
Chinese (Simplified): 偶然的见面
Chinese (Traditional): 偶然的見面
Czech: setkání
Danish: møde
Dutch: ontmoeting
Estonian: kohtumine
Finnish: tapaaminen
French: rencontre
German: die Begegnung
Greek: συνάντηση
Hungarian: (össze)találkozás
Icelandic: samfundur
Indonesian: pertemuan
Italian: incontro
Japanese: 出会い
Korean: 마주침, 만남
Latvian: satikšanās; sastapšanās
Lithuanian: susitikimas
Norwegian: (tilfeldig) møte
Polish: spotkanie
Portuguese (Brazil): encontro
Portuguese (Portugal): encontro
Romanian: întâl­nire
Russian: встреча
Slovak: stretnutie
Slovenian: srečanje
Spanish: encuentro
Swedish: möte, sammanträffande
Turkish: karşılaşma, yüz yüze gelme
encounter2 [inˈkauntə] noun
a fight
Example: The encounter between the armies was fierce.
Arabic: مُواجَهَه، صِدام
Chinese (Simplified): 遭遇战
Chinese (Traditional): 遭遇戰
Czech: střetnutí
Danish: sammenstød
Dutch: confrontatie
Estonian: kokkupõrge
Finnish: yhteenotto
French: affrontement
German: das Gefecht
Greek: σύγκρουση
Hungarian: összeütközés
Icelandic: bardagi
Indonesian: pertarungan
Italian: scontro, combattimento
Japanese: 交戦
Korean: 충돌
Latvian: sadursme
Lithuanian: susirėmimas
Norwegian: trefning, sammenstøt
Polish: potyczka
Portuguese (Brazil): embate
Portuguese (Portugal): recontro
Romanian: ciocnire
Russian: столкновение, схватка
Slovak: boj
Slovenian: spopad
Spanish: encuentro
Swedish: sammandrabbning
Turkish: çarpışma, çatışma
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Encounter

Con"test\, n. 1. Earnest dispute; strife in argument; controversy; debate; altercation.

Leave all noisy contests, all immodest clamors and brawling language. --I. Watts.

2. Earnest struggle for superiority, victory, defense, etc.; competition; emulation; strife in arms; conflict; combat; encounter.

The late battle had, in effect, been a contest between one usurper and another. --Hallam.

It was fully expected that the contest there would be long and fierce. --Macaulay.

Syn: Conflict; combat; battle; encounter; shock; struggle; dispute; altercation; debate; controvesy; difference; disagreement; strife.

Usage: Contest, Conflict, Combat, Encounter. Contest is the broadest term, and had originally no reference to actual fighting. It was, on the contrary, a legal term signifying to call witnesses, and hence came to denote first a struggle in argument, and then a struggle for some common object between opposing parties, usually one of considerable duration, and implying successive stages or acts. Conflict denotes literally a close personal engagement, in which sense it is applied to actual fighting. It is, however, more commonly used in a figurative sense to denote strenuous or direct opposition; as, a mental conflict; conflicting interests or passions; a conflict of laws. An encounter is a direct meeting face to face. Usually it is a hostile meeting, and is then very nearly coincident with conflict; as, an encounter of opposing hosts. Sometimes it is used in a looser sense; as, "this keen encounter of our wits." --Shak. Combat is commonly applied to actual fighting, but may be used figuratively in reference to a strife or words or a struggle of feeling.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Encounter

En*coun"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Encountered; p. pr. & vb. n. Encountering.] [OF. encontrer; pref. en- (L. in) + contre against, L. contra. See Counter, adv.] 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; as, to encounter a friend in traveling; two armies encounter each other; to encounter obstacles or difficulties, to encounter strong evidence of a truth.

Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. --Acts xvii. 18.

I am most fortunate thus accidentally to encounter you. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Encounter

En*coun"ter\, v. i. To meet face to face; to have a meeting; to meet, esp. as enemies; to engage in combat; to fight; as, three armies encountered at Waterloo.

I will encounter with Andronicus. --Shak.

Perception and judgment, employed in the investigation of all truth, have in the first place to encounter with particulars. --Tatham.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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