encounters

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of encounter.

   The diplomat's encounters with foreign leaders filled several pages of her memoir.

   Brief encounters at the conference led to a lasting research partnership.

   Note

   A regular plural, made by adding -s with no change to the stem. It carries every meaning the singular has: chance meetings, armed clashes, matches between two sides, and the data-gathering phase of a space mission. In Indian English it can also name extrajudicial killings, so context matters. The same spelling serves as the verb's present form, as in she encounters problems.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of encounter.

   The spacecraft encounters intense radiation as it nears the planet.

   Whenever the negotiator encounters resistance, she changes her approach.

   Note

   The form a singular subject takes in the present tense: he, she, it, or the spacecraft encounters. It usually takes a direct object, meaning to find or confront something: it encounters resistance, she encounters a stranger. Without an object it can mean to engage in battle. The sense "to meet one another" is rare, and because it needs two parties it seldom fits a singular subject at all.

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