encounter
part of speech
verb (encounter, encounters, encountered, encountering); noun (an encounter, encounters)
meaning for a pupil
1) To encounter means to meet someone or something, often by chance or unexpectedly: "we encountered a bear". tree →
2) To encounter a problem or difficulty means to face it: "we encountered heavy traffic". tree →
3) (noun) An encounter is a meeting, especially an unexpected, strange or dangerous one. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories, heroes encounter monsters, strangers and problems, and these encounters drive the plot. In science, a close encounter with an animal is a sighting up close. In formal and exam language "encounter" replaces "meet" or "come across". Phrases: encounter difficulties, a chance encounter, a close encounter, encounter with.
examples
- On our walk we encountered a fox. tree →
- The explorers encountered many dangers. tree →
- If you encounter any problems, ask the teacher. tree →
- It was a chance encounter at the shops. tree →
- Our first encounter with snow was magical. tree →
- In the jungle they had a close encounter with a snake. tree →
- We encountered heavy rain on the way home. tree →
- In comfortable rooms they encounter hospitality and friendly faces. tree →
note
Past form: encountered. "An encounter". It is more formal than "meet" or "come across". Usually something unplanned.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «encounter» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.