Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Encounter \En*coun"ter\, v. i.
   To meet face to face; to have a meeting; to meet, esp. as
   enemies; to engage in combat; to fight; as, three armies
   encountered at Waterloo.

         I will encounter with Andronicus.        --Shak.

         Perception and judgment, employed in the investigation
         of all truth, have in the first place to encounter with
         particulars.                             --Tatham.

Encounter \En*coun"ter\, n. [OF. encontre, fr. encontrer. See
   {Encounter}, v. t.]
   1. A meeting face to face; a running against; a sudden or
      incidental meeting; an interview.

            To shun the encounter of the vulgar crowd. --Pope.

   2. A meeting, with hostile purpose; hence, a combat; a
      battle; as, a bloody encounter.

            As one for . . . fierce encounters fit. --Spenser.

            To join their dark encounter in mid-air. --Milton
      .

   Syn: Contest; conflict; fight; combat; assault; rencounter;
        attack; engagement; onset. See {Contest}.

Encounter \En*coun"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Encountered}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Encountering}.] [OF. encontrer; pref. en- (L.
   in) + contre against, L. contra. See {Counter}, adv.]
   To come against face to face; to meet; to confront, either by
   chance, suddenly, or deliberately; especially, to meet in
   opposition or with hostile intent; to engage in conflict
   with; to oppose; to struggle with; as, to encounter a friend
   in traveling; two armies encounter each other; to encounter
   obstacles or difficulties, to encounter strong evidence of a
   truth.

         Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the
         Stoics, encountered him.                 --Acts xvii.
                                                  18.

         I am most fortunate thus accidentally to encounter you.
                                                  --Shak.

Source : WordNet®

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}]