accost
Americanverb (used with object)
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to confront boldly.
The beggar accosted me for money.
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to approach, especially with a greeting, question, or remark.
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(of prostitutes, procurers, etc.) to solicit for sexual purposes.
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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accostsimple
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accostssimple
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have accostedperfect
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has accostedperfect
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am accostingprogressive
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are accostingprogressive
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is accostingprogressive
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have been accostingperfect progressive
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has been accostingperfect progressive
Past
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accostedsimple
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had accostedperfect
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was accostingprogressive
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were accostingprogressive
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had been accostingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of accost
First recorded in 1570–80, accost is from the Late Latin word accostāre to be or put side by side. See ac-, coast
Explanation
To accost is to approach someone aggressively or confront them in an inappropriate way. Accost describes a confrontation — one that's often aggressive in nature. You're likely to be accosted by angry picketers if you wear your finest fur coat to a march against animal cruelty. The paparazzi make their living by accosting celebrities, pushing in close to snap candid photos as the stars leave their limos.
Vocabulary lists containing accost
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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Grade 11, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The mob was there to accost and hurl insults at 58-year-old Kiai Ashari, the caretaker of the Ndholo Kusumo Islamic boarding school, as he was escorted away by police.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
A rare moment of high drama flares when a pregnant woman, Agata, played with firecracker fierceness by Anna Chlumsky, barrels down the basement stairs to accost Renia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
You wait for guests to leave the secure perimeter, and politely accost them for all the details.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 20, 2022
I was lonely in my room at night, where Netflix would accost me with the passive aggressive, "Are you still watching?"
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2022
The bar opened into the lounge too, and that would or should have been the place to accost him and even inquire, except for the fact that he did not use the bar.
From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner
School marshals escort her and her fellow board members to their cars to ensure no one accosts them.
From Salon ● May 15, 2024
“No one accosts me in the street. No one threatens my life, and nobody shoots me,” said Miller, who is white.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
That he decides to do so because Rebecca accosts and “sour yells” at him while he’s at a urinal requires a higher-than-usual suspension of disbelief.
From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
Emi herself yells at someone who’s inconsiderately parked his truck on a stretch of curb, and later at an older man who accosts her in the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
An hour later, he accosts her in the midway, drops to his knees, and wraps his arms around her legs.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
On Tuesday, the 63-year-old doctor of engineering was accosted as she walked through Mexico City.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
That’s when he said three men accosted him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Mrs McCann arrived home first and "was accosted" by Ms Wandelt, who tried to stop her entering her property, while she said Mrs Spragg had been "aggressive".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
"I cannot move out of my house without being accosted and challenged by the police and driving me back home," Lungu told the BBC in May 2024.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
When the next song ended, everybody applauded once more, and Harry saw Ludo Bagman kiss Professor McGonagall’s hand and make his way back through the crowds, at which point Fred and George accosted him.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Fans have been seen accosting board members in hotel lobbies and airports, while on the pitch the team languish 14 points off the Premiership summit as Europe continues to to be a traumatic experience.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025
Given her reaction to being approached by the CeraVe rack and her fear of town halls, Mace may think the only appropriate forum for accosting a representative is the hallway outside the bathroom.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2025
A video seen by The Associated Press showed scores of Turkish Cypriots accosting a much smaller group of Slovak and British U.N. soldiers trying to hold them back from starting work inside the buffer zone.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
A video seen by the Associated Press showed scores of Turkish Cypriots accosting a much smaller group of Slovak and British U.N. soldiers trying to hold them back from starting work inside the buffer zone.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
‘I can’t bear that dreadful woman accosting me every time I happen to walk by.’
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
