How to use encounter in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

Encounter means to meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly. Example: “Three armies encountered at Waterloo.”

Examples of encounter by meaning

verbTo engage in conflict, as with an enemy.

Three armies encountered at Waterloo.

verbTo kill or execute someone extrajudicially.

Speaking to the media, Reddy said, "He (Accused in 6-year-old rape and murder case) should be encountered.2021 September 15, “Telangana Minister says, rapist of six-year-old will be nabbed and killed in encounter”, in Catch News, retrieved 25...

nounA meeting, especially one that is unplanned or unexpected.

Their encounter was a matter of chance.
That was Selwyn's first encounter with the Ruthvens.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter III, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC
As they have planned the encounters, they mostly have control over the time limits.1995, Maija Kalin, Coping with problems of understanding: repair sequences in conversations between native and non-native speakers

nounA match between two opposing sides.

Andre Santos equalised and the outstanding Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead for the first time before Juan Mata's spectacular strike set up the finale for an enthralling encounter.2011 October 29, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport

nounA sexual encounter; sexual activity, especially unplanned or unexpected, between two people who have not already...

Cosby described the sexual encounter in 2004 as consensual, Ms.2021 October 10, Graham Bowley, “For One Bill Cosby Juror, the Work Did Not End With the Trial”, in The New York Times

nounAn extrajudicial killing or execution.

Telangana Labour and Employment Minister Malla Reddy on Tuesday said that the guilty person in the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Hyderabad "will be nabbed and will be killed in an encounter".2021 September 15, “Telangana Minister says, rapist of six-year-old will be nabbed and killed in encounter”, in Catch News, retrieved 25...

More sentences with encounter

We will use a smoke machine to simulate the fog you will actually encounter.From the entry simulate
I am glad of you. And so I have been since our first encounter.From the entry glad
We encountered an abandoned boat at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.From the entry confluence
The tree frog that they encountered was truly a fine specimen.From the entry fine
He encountered the enemy at the hazard of his reputation and life.From the entry hazard
They were doing fine until they encountered a bunch of toughs from the opposition.From the entry tough
Throughout the turbulence encounter, the pilots kept the aircraft under control.From the entry under control
Please use the 'Well Baby Check' clinical stamp for your documentation of the next patient encounter.From the entry clinical stamp
Wrist drop was formerly encountered among painters, as a result of lead poisoning.From the entry wrist drop
She took a video of their encounter.From the entry take
Thus far, my intellect has been able to rise sufficiently to meet every academic challenge that I have encountered.From the entry rise
The divers encountered a huge school of mackerel.From the entry school
The mood most frequently encountered in English is the indicative, of which the mood in this sentence is an example.From the entry mood
His encounters with security, reception, the secretary, and the assistant were all stalls until the general manager's attorney arrived.From the entry stall
Encountering difficulties with the parcels’ unhelpful recipient, the deliveryman unceremoniously dumped the packages in the street outside the door.From the entry unceremoniously
Screenreaders for the blind read out the alt text when they encounter an image on a Web page.From the entry alt text
We've encountered a tide of problems.From the entry tide
If you encounter windshear on approach, apply TOGA power and rotate the nose up to just below the stickshaker activation threshold to maximize the aircraft's climb capability.From the entry toga
On this episode of Interstellar Voyagers From Uranus, our heroes encounter a planet where shrink rays threaten to trap them inside a terrarium as an alien's pets!From the entry shrink ray
By October it was advancing steadily toward Pangwa, encountering meager resistance.2025 July 18, Timothy McLaughlin, “A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border. The Kachin Independence Organization…. From the entry October
There have been other encounters with uncontacted tribes in recent years.2025 April 4, Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra, “US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe”, in CNN. From the entry uncontacted
On our journeys we would encounter “knockoffs”. items created to mimic the original.2025 January 22, Nancy Hoffman, “Not Quite Right: Something is not as it should be”, in Substack. From the entry NQR
Join me in illuminating, discussing, dissecting all the NQR we encounter going forward.2025 January 22, Nancy Hoffman, “Not Quite Right: Something is not as it should be”, in Substack. From the entry NQR
I encountered a lot more gore like gory videos, military videos.2024, Step Together NSW, Start The Conversation: Episode 2. From the entry foodist
“Defendant Officers violated numerous laws and CPD policies during their encounter with Dexter.2024 April 24, Family of Chicago man fatally shot by police files federal civil rights lawsuit against city and tactical officers, CNN. From the entry cpd
Knew you were gay from that first encounter, had no idea you were undead.”2024, Kiersten White, Lucy Undying, unnumbered page. From the entry vampdar
Attempting to translate such ciphers wherever she encountered them was Mrs Touchet’s private delight.2023, Zadie Smith, The Fraud, Hamish Hamilton, page 145. From the entry decipherer
Co-packing is something we encounter every day—often without even realizing it.2023 July 27, “How does the co-packing process work? A practical guide”, in Axell Group, United States, archived from the original on 07…. From the entry co-packing
Here are a few examples of "tipflation" which I have encountered.2022 December 18, Jonathan Kahane, “Guest columnist Jonathan Kahane: Reaching the tipping point”, in Daily Hampshire Gazette, archived…. From the entry tipflation
Government can struggle to identify the real problems people encounter when using its services.2021 June 22, “Infrequently asked questions about FAQ pages”, in Australian Government Style Manual. From the entry faq
Children start to make meanings and connections as soon as they encounter the book.2021 April 21, Benita Strnad, Ginger Magnusson Hewitt, “Reading a Book Through Its Cover: The Importance of Preserving Visual and Tactile…. From the entry sequence
Once the soul incarnates in mortal bodies, in encounters massive impediments.2021, Andrea Nightingale, Philosophy and Religion in Plato's Dialogues, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 264. From the entry hyperdivine

Meaning of encounter

verb To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly.
verb To confront (someone or something) face to face.
verb To meet one another.

Full definition of encounter

Questions about encounter in a sentence

How do you use encounter in a sentence?: Encounter is used as a verb and noun. For example: “Three armies encountered at Waterloo.”
What is a short sentence with encounter?: “Three armies encountered at Waterloo.”
What does encounter mean?: Encounter means to meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly.

Adapted from Wiktionary: encounter (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use encounter in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/encounter. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.