Encounter

Definition: Encounter

Encounter

Noun

1. A minor short-term fight.

2. A casual or unexpected convergence; "he still remembers their meeting in Paris"; "there was a brief encounter in the hallway".

3. A casual meeting with a person of thing.

4. A hostile disagreement face-to-face.

Verb

1. Come together; "I'll probably see you at the meeting"; "How nice to see you again!".

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".

3. Be beset by; "The project ran into numerous financial difficulties".

4. Experience as a reaction; "My proposal met with much opposition".

5. Contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle; "Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to play Mary".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "encounter" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Synonyms: Encounter

Arrival

Return, remigration; meeting; rencounter, encounter.

Come to hand; come at, come across; hit; come upon, light upon, pop upon, bounce upon, plump upon, burst upon, pitch upon; meet; encounter, rencounter; come in contact.

Contention

Contend; with, grapple with, engage with, close with, buckle with, bandy with, try conclusions with, have a brush; n. with, tilt with; encounter, fall foul of, pitch into, clapperclaw, run a tilt at; oppose; reluct.

Conflict, skirmish; rencounter, encounter; rencontre, collision, affair, brush, fight; battle, battle royal; combat, action, engagement, joust, tournament; tilt, tilting; tournay, list; pitched battle.

Danger

Verb: be in danger; Adjective:; be exposed to danger, run into danger, incur danger, encounter danger; Noun: run a risk; lay oneself open to; (liability); lean on a broken reed, trust to a broken reed; feel the ground sliding from under one, have to run for it; have the chances against one, have the odds against one, face long odds; be in deep trouble, be between a rock and a hard place.

Eventuality

Meet with; experience, enjoy, encounter, undergo, suffer, pass through, go through, be subjected to, be exposed to; fall to the lot of; be one's chance, be one's fortune, be one's lot; find; endure; (feel).

Impulse

Verb: give an impetus; Noun: impel, push; start, give a start to, set going; drive, urge, boom; thrust, prod, foin; cant; elbow, shoulder, jostle, justle, hustle, hurtle, shove, jog, jolt, encounter; run against, bump against, butt against; knock one's head against, run one's head against; impinge; boost; bunt, carom, clip y; fan, fan out; jab, plug.

Percussion, concussion, collision, occursion, clash, encounter, cannon, carambole, appulse, shock, crash, bump; impact; elan; charge; (attack); beating; (punishment).

Intention

Toss up; cast lots, draw lots; leave to chance, trust to chance, leave to the chapter of accidents, trust to the chapter of accidents; tempt fortune; chance it, take one's chance, take a shot at it (attempt); run the risk, run the chance, incur the risk, incur the chance, encounter the risk, encounter the chance; stand the hazard of the die.

Opposition

Stem, breast, encounter; stem the tide, breast the tide, stem the current, stem the flood; buffet the waves; beat up against, make head against; grapple with; kick against the pricks; (resist); contend; do battle; (warfare) -with, do battle against.

Wit

Phrase: adhibenda est in jocando moderatio; "gentle dullness ever loves a joke"; "leave this keen encounter of our wits"; just joking, just kidding; "surely you jest!".

Crosswords: Encounter

Why did you break up the encounter with my pet python (Moonraker; writing credit: Christopher Wood)

That was our first encounter with disco mutants (Radioactive Dreams; writing credit: Albert Pyun)

I wonder if all those people who are desperate to see a close encounter of some kind have ever really thought about what it might mean (The Tomorrow People; writing credit: Brian Finch)

A monstrous giant of infamous repute whom I intend to encounter! (Man of La Mancha; writing credit: Dale Wasserman)

There I am trying to buy a freaking dude a drink, and then all of a sudden, man. I don't even remember how I found out, I was so wasted, but geez, if I didn't find out, I was that close to a major intimate encounter with a dude (Making of 'Jackass: The Movie'; writing credit: Danny Miller)

Brief Encounter (1974)

Encounter with the Unknown (1973)

Sexual Encounter Group (1970)

Encounter with Saul Alinsky - Part 1: CYC Toronto (1967)

Brief Encounter (1946)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• A Life Shaken: My Encounter With Parkinson's Disease (reference)

• An Encounter With a Prophet (reference)

• Give Me 40 Days: An Invitation for an Encounter With God (reference)

• Kaffir Boy in America: An Encounter With Apartheid (reference)

• Tantric Quest: An Encounter With Absolute Love (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Encounter (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies

• Girl Explores Girl - The Alien Encounter (reference)

• FMW (Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling) - Final Encounter (reference)

• Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episodes 1 & 2: Encounter at Farpoint, Parts I & II (Premiere) (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• A Classic Encounter (reference)

• Live Encounter [LIVE] (reference)

• Moon Road To Dawn: An Encounter of Chinese and Japanese Traditional Music (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech

• Aliens: Thanatos Encounter (reference)

• Half-Life: Initial Encounter (reference)

• Serious Sam: Second Encounter (reference)

  (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

A Grazing Encounter Between Two Spiral Galaxies. Credit: NASA.

Each of these swirling clouds is a result of a meteorological phenomenon known as a Karman vortex. These vortices appeared over Alexander Selkirk Island in the southern Pacific Ocean. Rising precipitously from the surrounding waters, the island's highest point is nearly a mile (1.6 km) above sea level. As wind-driven clouds encounter this obstacle, they flow around it to form these large, spinning eddies. Credit: NASA.

Strange wave refraction pattern apparent in aerial photograph as swells encounter large merchant vessel. Credit: America's Coastlines.

Costly crop pests like this cotton bollworm may soon encounter a new biological control-the celery looper virus-being tested by the Agricultural Research Service and a commercial laboratory. Photo by Scott Bauer. Credit: USDA ARS News.

Costly crop pests like this cotton bollworm may soon encounter a new biological control-the celery looper virus-being tested by the Agricultural Research Service and a commercial laboratory. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer..

This mirror image reflection is what you might encounter on a quiet morning in the back waters of Squaw Lake. Credit: Lori Cook.

Probably photographed in July 1918, when she was inspected and acquired for the U.S. Navy as USS Helvetia (SP-3096). Intended to serve as a decoy to lure German U-boats within torpedo range of U.S. submarines operating nearby, Helvetia was operationally deployed off the U.S. Atlantic Coast but did not encounter the enemy. Credit: NAVY.

A casual encounter. Credit: Library of Congress.

Diagram of the earth's encounter with the tail of Halley's Comet, May 18/19, 1910. Credit: Library of Congress.

An Arch encounter. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

They must encounter each other, and make the best of it.

Waterloo moreover is the strangest encounter in history

His eyes shunned every encounter with the eyes of women

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Lymph nodes contain specialized compartments where immune cells congregate, and where they can encounter antigens. (references)

Your stay is longer than 1 month in an area where dog rabies is common (the longer you stay, the greater the chance of an encounter with an animal). (references)

These adhesion molecules change when blood vessel and immune cells encounter foreign molecules, sense damaged tissue in the vicinity, or detect cytokines. (references)

Business

The rationalization plan is bound to encounter strong regional resistance. (references)

Exporters who encounter difficulties in getting their products into the PA areas should send a fax to the Commercial Service in Tel Aviv at 972-3-510-7215 for assistance. (references)

As a result, the government is stuck in a difficult situation as it could encounter criticism, especially from opposition parties as April's legislative election approaches. (references)

Children

Cote d'Ivoire

Adults with disabilities are not specific targets of abuse, but they encounter serious difficulties in employment and education. (references)

Dominican Republic

Persons with Disabilities Persons with disabilities encounter discrimination in employment and in the provision of other services. (references)

Israel and the occupied territories

Existing antidiscrimination laws do not prohibit discrimination based on disability, and persons with disabilities continue to encounter difficulties in areas such as employment and housing. (references)

Civil Liberties

Uzbekistan

Television stations often encounter difficulty obtaining licenses. (references)

Burma

These groups report that formal requests encounter long delays and, especially for Muslims, generally are denied. (references)

Greece

Church leaders report that their permanent members (nonmissionaries) do not encounter official discriminatory treatment. (references)

Economic History

Guatemala

U.S. and other foreign encounter a various kinds of intellectual property issues in Guatemala. (references)

China

Despite these commitments, foreign investors may still encounter pressure to transfer technology. (references)

Israel

Companies encounter difficulties due to the nature of this field: long term, high investment, and high risk. (references)

Human Rights

Gambia

The encounter led to a fight, and the officer's helmet and stick disappeared. (references)

Philippines

The AFP reported that the activist was killed in an encounter between the military and the NPA. (references)

India

Another encounter occurred in Nalgonda district on June 9, when police surrounded a group of PWG militants. (references)

Minorities

Dominican Republic

Haitian parents encounter difficulties registering their children for school. (references)

Russia

Muslims, Jews, and members of other minority religions continued to encounter prejudice and societal discrimination. (references)

Syria

They also encounter difficulties in enrolling their children in school, and in some cases, in registering their marriages. (references)

Political Economy

OMAN

Overland shipments from the UAE seldom encounter problems, offering one possible solution. (references)

PAKISTAN

U.S. exporters sometimes encounter difficulty with "quality" standards, usually in the context of protecting some domestically manufactured product. (references)

Ukraine

Some minority and nontraditional religions continued to encounter bureaucratic difficulties from local officials; however, the Government continued to return properties expropriated during the Soviet era to religious groups. (references)

Political Rights

Costa Rica

Women encounter no legal impediments to their participation in politics; however, the percentage of women in government and politics does not correspond to their percentage in the population. (references)

Trade

Peru

However, some U.S. exporters continue to encounter problems with Peruvian Customs. (references)

Colombia

Any U.S. exporter wishing to obtain the list of Colombian Harmonized Tariff Schedule headings subject to this regulation or who encounter problems due to this requirement may consult with the Colombia Desk at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Tel: (202) 482-0057, or with the Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Tel: (571) 315-2126 or 315-2298. (references)

Travel

Argentina

No encounter starts with a business discussion. (references)

Hong Kong

Americans encounter few if any cultural problems when conducting business in Hong Kong. (references)

Armenia

However, foreigners working in Armenia may sometimes encounter remnants of the Soviet work mentality. (references)

Women

China

Nevertheless, women frequently encounter serious obstacles in getting laws enforced. (references)

Russia

Credible evidence suggests that women encounter considerable discrimination in employment. (references)

Cote d'Ivoire

Some women also encounter difficulty in obtaining loans, as they cannot meet the lending criteria mandated by banks. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "encounter": encounter group ♦ encounter the chance ♦ naval encounter. Additional references.

Beginning with "encounter": encounter-group.

Ending with "encounter": sexual-encounter.

Afrikaans

sien (come across, meet, see), ontmoet (come across, meet, met, see). (various references)

Albanian

takoj befas, takoj (attach, belong, chance on, come across, cross, happen, meet, reach, run up against, salute), takohem me (call in, come across), takohem (come across, converge, link up, meet, reunite), takim i papritur, takim (appointment, assignation, contact, engagement, gathering, interview, meet, meeting, rendezvous, reunion, tryst), përplasje (bang, bump, clap, clash, collision, crash, flap, fling, impact, slam), ndeshje (clash, collision, combat, competition, fight, fighting, jarring, match, play), ndesh (attend, bang against, barge, bump, come across, come round, cross, fall in with, fall over, fight, forgather, greet, happen on, hit, light, meet, run into). (various references)

Arabic 

مصادفة (coincidence, meeting), ‏مقابلة (audience, interview, meeting, opposition, reciprocity), ‏مواجهة (confrontation, defiance, facing, meeting, obverse), ‏معركة (action, battle, clash, combat, conflict, engagement, fighting, fray), ‏لقاء غير متوقع, ‏لقاء (appointment, congress, get together, match, meeting, rendezvous), ‏لاقى (experience, happen on, receive, suffer), ‏قابل (accepting, accessible, agreeing, come upon, confront, consenting, face, meet, run across, subtend), ‏واجه (be faced with, be facing, brave, confront, cope, experience, face, head, manage, meet, pull faces, shoulder, square, stand up, stand up to), ‏صادم (percussive), ‏صادف (chance, come across, fall in with, happen, happen on, light upon, meet, meet by chance, run across, stumble, stumble on, tumble). (various references)

Bulgarian 

срещам се случайно, схватка (clash, rencontre, rencounter, scuffle, skirmish), случайна среща (rencontre), сблъскване (conflict, crash, foul, impact, jar, jostle, percussion, shock, smash), сблъсквам се с (cannon into, run down, run into), неочаквана среща, натъквам се на (butt, come across, happen upon, meet with, run against, run into, run up, run upon, strike, stumble across), попадам на (fall on, fall upon, find, happen on, pick up, run across, strike on, turn up), дуел (duel, rencontre). (various references)

Catalan

trobar (come across, meet, see), trobada. (various references)

Chinese 

遭遇 (befall). (various references)

Czech

zápas (agony, battle, bout, contest, fight, game, match, struggle, tussle, wrestle, wrestling), utkat se, utkání (contest, game), střetnutí (engagement), setkat se (meet), setkání (meeting, reunion), narazit na (come across, come up against, run into, strike, stumble), bitva (action, battle, engagement, fray). (various references)

Danish

træffe (come across, meet, see), møde (come across, meet, meeting, see). (various references)

Dutch

ontmoeten (come across, meet, meeting, see), aantreffen (come across, find, meet, see). (various references)

Esperanto

renkonto, renkonti (come across, meet, see). (various references)

Faeroese

møta (come across, meet, see), hitta (come across, meet, see). (various references)

Farsi 

مواجهه (Affront), مواجه شدن با (Envisage, Nose), مصادف شدن با (Cross), تصادف (Accidence, Chance, Coincidence, Concurrence, Fortuity, Incidence, Occasion, Occurrence), رویاروی شدن (Face), رویاروءی , روبروشدن (Cross, Envisage), دست بگریبان شدن با, برخورد (Address, Affect, Clash, Conflict, Confliction, Contact, Contiguity, Greet, Incidence, Reception, Smash, Strike, Tilt). (various references)

Finnish

yhteenotto (clash, confrontation), tavata (catch, come across, come upon, happen upon, meet, run into, see, spell, to meet), ottelu (contest, fight, match), kohdata (come across, meet, meet with, run across). (various references)

French

rencontre (encounters), rencontrer. (various references)

Frisian

treffe (catch, come across, hit, meet, run across, see, strike, to meet), oantreffe (come across, meet, see). (various references)

German

begegnung (match, meeting), treffen (affect, assignation, bump up against, catch, connect, find, hit, hit upon, hurt, impinge, make, meet, meet with, meeting, meetings, rally, reach, reunion, reunions, run across, stricken, strike, take, to encounter), begegnen (combat, come across, confront, counter, face, happen, meet, oppose, resist, respond to, run into, see, to encounter, to meet). (various references)

Greek 

συνάντηση (appointment, competition, fixture, meeting, rencontre, rencounter, rendezvous), συναντώ (come across, come up against, contact, meet, tryst). (various references)

Hebrew 

לקדם (advance, further, precede, promote), לפגוש (fall upon, meet), להתקל (bump up against, come across, happen on, light upon, meet, run across, run into), קרב (battle, combat, conflict, fight, match, war), פגישה (appointment, meeting), התקלות (meeting), התנגשות (clash, collision, conflict, crash, dash, skirmish, smash). (various references)

Hungarian

találkozik (come across, lay down, meet, met, place, put, put down, see, to encounter, to meet, to osculate), találkozás (meeting, meeting someone), összecsapás (clash, collision, cope, rencontre, rencounter, scrimmage, scrum, set-to, shock). (various references)

Icelandic

mæta (come across, meet, see), hitta (come across, meet, see). (various references)

Indonesian

perjumpaan, pergulatan (contract, wrestling), berjumpa (meet). (various references)

Italian

incontro (bout, encountered, match, meeting, round, up to), incontrare (coincide, come, come across, come up against, hit, meet, meet with, run up against, see). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

遭遇. (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

そうぐうせん, そうぐう, しゅっかい, であい (an encounter, meeting, rendezvous), ほうちゃく (face), エンカウンター , はちあわせ (bumping of heads, running into someone). (various references)

Korean 

실전. (various references)

Manx

co-streeu (affray, fight, rivalry, vie). (various references)

Norwegian

møte (come across, meet, meeting, see). (various references)

Papiamen

topa (come across, meet, see), kontra (across from, against, come across, in exchange for, meet, opposed to, opposite, see, upon). (various references)

Pig Latin

encounteray.(various references)

Polish

spotykać (come across, meet, see), spotkanie. (various references)

Portuguese

encontro (appointment, chunking, clash, impact, meeting, rencontre, rencounter, rendezvous), encontrar (come across, detect, discover, experience, find, find out, get together, hunt up, impinge, meet, meet with, one finds, to encounter, to find, to meet). (various references)

Portuguese Brazilian

encontrar (one finds, to encounter, to find, to meet). (various references)

Romanian

se ciocni (bump, collide, conflict, dash against, fall foul of, foul, go foul of, hit, impinge, jar, knock, meet, run foul of, strike, telescope), luptã (action, affair, battle, combat, contest, efforts, engagement, fight, fighting, match, mix up, quarrel, Stour, strife, striving, struggle, war, warfare), lupta cu (fight with), da de (come across, meet, run across, strike, stumble across, stumble on), conflict (clash, collision, conflict, dispute, fray, friction, jar, quarrel, strife, struggle, war), ciocnire (affair, bump, clash, click, collision, concussion, conflict, contradiction, dash, foul, hit, impact, jar, jostle, passage, shock), întâmpina greutãţi, întâlnire neprevãzutã, întâlni (catch, come across, find, meet, meet with, run across). (various references)

Russian 

стычка (engagement, hassle, passage at arms, passage of arms, skirmish), столкновение (clash, collision, conflict, dash, impact, jarring, jostle, passage at arms, passage of arms, percussion, smash, warfare), встречать (meet, met, ring in, run into, salute), встретиться (fall in with, meet, see), неожиданная встреча. (various references)

Scottish

coinnich. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

susret (meeting, rencounter), susresti (meet, rencounter). (various references)

Spanish

encuentro (citation, clash, collision, commitment, far flung, match, meeting, skirmish, smash, tie, treat), encontrar (come across, come upon, espy, find, finding, locate, meet, see, sift out, spot, to find, trace), hallar (collocate, come across, dispose, find, meet, see). (various references)

Sranan

tuka (come across, meet, see), miti (come across, meet, see). (various references)

Swedish

träffa på, möta (come across, confront, counter, envisage, front, greet, meet, see). (various references)

Turkish

eğitim amacıyla toplanma, yüzyüze gelmek, tesadüf (accident, chance, coincidence, conjunction, contingency, flukey, fluky, fortuity, hap, happenstance, incidence), rastlantı (accident, coincidence, concurence, conjunction, contingent, fortuity, hap, happenstance, incidence, irony), rastlamak (alight, alight on, blunder on, coincide, come across, come on, come upon, concur, fall in with, fall on, fall with, find, hap, happen, light, light upon, meet, meet by chance, run across, run against, run up against smb., stumble across, stumble on, stumble upon), rastlama (rencontre), karşılaşmak (come across, come on, come upon, cross, cross each other, drop a cross, experience, fall with, greet, meet, run across, run up against smb.), karşılaşma (confrontation, contest, event, fight, match, meet, meeting), dövüşme, buluxmak (come across, meet, see), çarpışmak (bump, cannon, clash, collide, combat, come into collision, do battle, knock together, skirmish), çarpışma (action, bump, clash, collision, combat, conflict, engagement, foul, impact, rencontre, scrimmage, scrum, scrummage, set to, skirmish, smash, smash up). (various references)

Turkmen 

duюuюyk (meeting), duюuюmak, duюmak (meet). (various references)

Ukrainian

сутичка (affair, affront, bump, bustle, clash, collision, conflict, fight, fighting, fray, impingement, jostle, mix in, rencontre, rencounter, scramble, scrimmage, scrummage, shock, skirmish, tilt), стикатися (clash, collide, contact, foul, impinge, impinge on, jostle, meet, osculate, telescope, touch), наштовхуватися (collide, deal with), зустріч (appointment, bout, greeting, meeting, reception, thrust), зустріти (come up against), дуель (duel, rencontre, rencounter). (various references)

Vietnamese 

sự gặp phải, sự gặp gỡ (contact, interview), sự bắt gặp, sự đọ sức, cuộc gặp gỡ sự chạm trán, cuộc chạm trán, cuộc đọ sức. (various references)

Welsh

cyfarfod (come across, meet, meeting, see), cwrdd (come across, meet, meeting, see). (various references)

Zulu

umhlangano (meeting), -hlangana (come across, meet, see). (various references)

coetu, coetum, coetus, coetuum, concursum, congressione, congressus, continentur, continere, in-, obitus. (various references)

incontra. (various references)

encountrer. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "encounter": encountered, encountering, encounters. (additional references)

Words ending with "encounter": reencounter, rencounter. (additional references)

Words containing "encounter": reencountered, reencountering, reencounters, rencountered, rencountering, rencounters. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Encounter" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: emcounter, encopunter, encounted, encouter, encoutner, encuentro, Lecointre. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: cretonne, nocturne, renounce.

-2 letters: centner, coenure, cornute, counter, enounce, enteron, neurone, neutron, nocturn, recount, tenoner, trounce.

-3 letters: cenote, center, centre, conner, cornet, couter, cunner, encore, neuron, neuter, nocent, recent, rennet, retune, tenner, tenour, tenrec, tenure, tonner, tureen, turnon, unrent, untorn.

-4 letters: cento, centu, conte, cornu, count, court, crone, cruet, curet, cuter, enter, enure, erect.

+1 letter: countermen, encounters, rencounter.

+2 letters: countermine, counterpane, encountered, reencounter, rencounters, truncheoned, unconverted.

+3 letters: countenancer, counteragent, countermined, countermines, counterpanes, countertenor, countertrend, encountering, internucleon, nomenclature, nonrecurrent, reencounters, rencountered, renouncement, undercounted.

+4 letters: countenancers, counteragents, counterbidden, counterchange, counterdemand, countermanded, countersigned, countersniper, countertenors, countertrends, encouragement, nomenclatures, nucleoprotein, pronouncement, reencountered, rencountering, renouncements, unconsecrated.

+5 letters: counterbalance, counterchanged, counterchanges, countercurrent, counterdemands, counterfeiting, counterpointed, counterpunched, counterpuncher, counterpunches, countersnipers, counterstained, encouragements, incommensurate, internucleonic, neuroscientist, neurosecretion, nondestructive, nonfluorescent, nonintercourse, nontherapeutic, nucleoproteins, pronouncements, reencountering, superconfident, supercontinent, superinfection.