Collocations for "encounter"
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "encounter" in context.
WordReference English Collocations © 2026
encounter
ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.v
- encountered a [man, stranger] (who)
- encountered him [in the hall, at school, on the street]
- I first encountered him [in, when]
- encountered problems [on the road, along the way]
- encountered the [troops, planes, enemy]
- encounter [a setback, delays, difficulties]
- encounter [several, many, all kinds of] [setbacks]
- [until, when, if, should] you encounter resistance
- [issues, side effects, problems] [commonly] encountered by
- [commonly, frequently, often] encountered
- encountered by [people, patients, students]
- encountered in the [forest, fields, village]
- had a close encounter [with death, of the third kind]
- had a [chance, brief] encounter with
- a brief encounter in the [street, mall, office]
- (not) my first sexual encounter
- a [fierce, bloody] encounter with the enemy
- an encounter with [the law, police, authorities]
- [arrested, detained, killed] in a police encounter
- in an encounter in [France]
- the encounter [unnerved, worried, shocked] her
'encounter' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):