Encounter

How to spell encounter

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce encounter

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does encounter mean?

1. verbTo unexpectedly meet someone or come up against something, especially a difficulty.
2. nounAn unexpected or notable meeting between people, or a brief confrontation.

Encounter in a sentence

• verb

  Travellers may encounter long delays at the border this weekend.

• noun

  Her first encounter with the manager left a strong impression.

• verb

  Auditors often encounter errors when they review old spreadsheets.

• noun

  The brief encounter at the conference led to a lasting business partnership.

Where does encounter come from?

Language of origin: French

This word travelled into English from Old French encontrer, which meant 'to meet, to come up against'. The French verb grew out of the Late Latin incontrare, formed from the prefix in- (meaning 'in' or 'against') and contra (meaning 'against' or 'opposite'), so the literal sense was something like 'to go up against'. That confrontational flavour explains why an early English encounter often meant a hostile meeting or a clash in battle, before the word softened into the neutral idea of simply meeting someone or coming across something. English adopted it around the 1300s, keeping the French spelling shape, which is why we have that en- opening rather than the Latin in-. The same contra root sits inside everyday relatives like 'counter', 'contrary', and 'contradict', a useful reminder that the middle of the word is spelled counter, not 'conter'.

How the word is built

• en- (in, against)
• counter (from Latin contra: against, opposite)