encounter
     n 1: a minor short-term fight [syn: {brush}, {clash}, {skirmish}]
     2: a casual or unexpected convergence; "he still remembers
        their meeting in Paris"; "there was a brief encounter in
        the hallway" [syn: {meeting}]
     3: a casual meeting with a person of thing [syn: {coming upon}]
     4: a hostile disagreement face-to-face [syn: {confrontation}, {showdown},
         {face-off}]
     v 1: come together; "I'll probably see you at the meeting"; "How
          nice to see you again!" [syn: {meet}, {ran into}, {run
          across}, {come across}, {see}]
     2: come upon, as if by accident; meet with; "We find this idea
        in Plato"; "I happened upon the most wonderful bakery not
        very far from here"; "She chanced upon an interesting book
        in the bookstore the other day" [syn: {find}, {happen}, {chance},
         {bump}]
     3: be beset by; "The project ran into numerous financial
        difficulties" [syn: {run into}]
     4: experience as a reaction; "My proposal met with much
        opposition" [syn: {meet}, {receive}]
     5: contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle;
        "Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to
        play Mary" [syn: {meet}, {play}, {take on}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0