meet

¹

[ meet ]

verb (used with object)

, met, meet·ing.

1. to come upon; come into the presence of; encounter:

   I would meet him on the street at unexpected moments.

2. to become acquainted with; be introduced to:

   I've never met your cousin.

3. to join at an agreed or designated place or time:

   Meet me in St. Louis.

4. to be present at the arrival of:

   to meet a train.

5. to come to or before (one's notice, or a means of noticing, as the eyes or ears):

   A peculiar sight met my eyes.

6. to come into the company of (a person, group, etc.) in dealings, conference, etc.
7. to face, eye, etc., directly or without avoidance.

   Synonyms: confront

8. to come into physical contact, juxtaposition, or collision with:

   The two cars met each other head-on at high speed.

   Synonyms: unite, couple, cross, intersect, connect, join

9. to encounter in opposition, conflict, or contest:

   Harvard meets Yale next week in football.

10. to oppose:

    to meet charges with countercharges.

11. to cope or deal effectively with (an objection, difficulty, etc.).
12. to comply with; fulfill; answer:

    to meet a deadline;

    to meet a demand.

13. to pay in full:

    How will you meet expenses?

14. to come into conformity with (wishes, expectations, views, etc.).
15. to encounter in experience:

    to meet hostility.

verb (used without object)

, met, meet·ing.

1. to come together, face to face, or into company:

   We met on the street.

2. to assemble for action, conference, or other common purpose, as a committee, legislature, or class:

   The board of directors will meet on Tuesday.

   Synonyms: collect

   Antonyms: scatter, adjourn

3. to become personally acquainted.
4. to come into contact or form a junction, as lines, planes, or areas:

   The two lines meet to form an angle.

   Antonyms: diverge

5. to be conjoined or united.
6. to concur or agree.
7. to come together in opposition or conflict, as adversaries or hostile forces.

noun

1. an assembly, as of persons and hounds for a hunt or swimmers or runners for a race or series of races:

   a track meet.

   Synonyms: competition, contest

2. those assembled.
3. the place of such an assembling.
4. Mathematics. intersection ( def 3a ).

verb phrase

1. 1. to come across; encounter:

      to meet with opposition.

   2. to experience; undergo; receive:

      The visitors met with courtesy during their stay.

   3. to join, as for conference or instruction:

      I met with her an hour a day until we solved the problem.

meet

²

[ meet ]

adjective

, Archaic.

1. suitable; fitting; proper.

   Synonyms: appropriate, apt

meet

¹

/ miːt /

verb

1. sometimes foll byup or(US) with to come together (with), either by design or by accident; encounter

   I met him unexpectedly

   we met at the station

2. to come into or be in conjunction or contact with (something or each other)

   the roads meet in the town

   the sea meets the sky

3. tr to come to or be at the place of arrival of

   to meet a train

4. to make the acquaintance of or be introduced to (someone or each other)

   have you two met?

5. to gather in the company of (someone or each other)

   the board of directors meets on Tuesday

6. to come into the presence of (someone or each other) as opponents

   Joe meets Fred in the boxing match

7. tr to cope with effectively; satisfy

   to meet someone's demands

8. tr to be apparent to (esp in the phrase meet the eye )
9. tr to return or counter

   to meet a blow with another

10. to agree with (someone or each other)

    we met him on the price he suggested

11. trsometimes foll bywith to experience; suffer

    he met his death in a road accident

12. to occur together

    courage and kindliness met in him

13. tr to find (a person, situation, etc) in a specified condition

    I met the door open

14. meet and greet
    meet and greet (of a celebrity, politician, etc) to have a session of being introduced to and questioned by members of the public or journalists

noun

1. the assembly of hounds, huntsmen, etc, prior to a hunt
2. a meeting, esp a sports meeting
3. the place where the paths of two railway trains meet or cross
4. meet-and-greet
   meet-and-greet a session where a celebrity, etc, is introduced to or questioned by members of the public or journalists

meet

²

/ miːt /

adjective

1. archaic.
   proper, fitting, or correct

Derived Forms

• ˈmeeter, noun
• ˈmeetly, adverb

Other Words From

• meeter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of meet¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English mete(n), miete(n), Old English (ge)mētan; cognate with Old Norse mœta, Old Saxon mōtian; moot

Origin of meet²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English mete, meete, mette, from Old English gemǣte “suitable,” cognate with German gemäss “suitable, appropriate”

Word History and Origins

Origin of meet¹

Old English mētan; related to Old Norse mœta, Old Saxon mōtian

Origin of meet²

C13: from variant of Old English gemǣte; related to Old High German māza suitability, Old Norse mǣtr valuable

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. meet cute, cute ( def 6 ).
2. meet halfway,
   1. to concede in part, as to the demands of an opposing faction; make concessions, as to another person; compromise:

      Despite their differences, the union and the company finally agreed to meet halfway and settle their dispute.

   2. to anticipate another's actions and conduct oneself accordingly.
3. well met, Archaic. welcome.

More idioms and phrases containing meet

• go (meet) halfway
• make ends meet
• more than meets the eye

Example Sentences

I asked Renee if that had changed in the two years since they met.

From Washington Post

It's getting to the point where I don't know if I want to be close friends with this version of Elizabeth, which is difficult because we're both still active in the same activity where we first met.

From Washington Post

Instead, helmet makers simply have to keep records of testing performed at outside labs or their own facilities to prove their helmets meet the standard.

From Outside Online

The services will develop a moderation approach that best meets the needs of their consumers.

From ProPublica

The NTSB board was meeting virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.

From Washington Post

Lee and Coogan did briefly meet with the pope, with pictures to prove it, but no one at the Vatican officially screened the film.

From The Daily Beast

There are parks filled with men pushing strollers and coffee shops where fathers meet their friends, babes in arms.

From The Daily Beast

On Tuesday, President Obama will meet with Enrique Peña Nieto, the President of Mexico.

From The Daily Beast

When we meet them, their lives are unfulfilled, and at no point are we convinced their condition will change.

From The Daily Beast

I meet Otis J. the night he arrives at “The Castle,” a West Harlem halfway house for newly-released convicts.

From The Daily Beast

He that seeketh the law, shall be filled with it: and he that dealeth deceitfully, shall meet with a stumblingblock therein.

From Project Gutenberg

The Authorised Version has: “And as a mother shall she meet him, and receive him as a wife married of a virgin.”

From Project Gutenberg

He returned shortly, to meet his mother standing in the doorway, with pale, affrighted face.

From Project Gutenberg

I haven't much time for seeing any one, except my patients, and the people I meet in society.

From Project Gutenberg

Then Jimmy remembered suddenly that he had to meet Grandfather Mole over there.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• appear
• gather
• join
• open
• show
• sit