accost

verb

ac·​cost ə-ˈkȯst 

-ˈkäst

accosted; accosting; accosts

transitive verb

: to approach and speak to (someone) in an often challenging or aggressive way

He was accosted by a stranger on the street.

Examples of accost in a Sentence

He was accosted by three gang members on the subway.

She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.

Recent Examples on the Web

During a preliminary hearing in 2021, Los Angeles Police Department detectives testified that Jester and three others broke into Jackson’s Hollywood Hills rental and accosted the rapper in a shower. — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026

Two of the men were accosted at a local restaurant, and they’ve also been refused service in town, Cox said. — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026

Jenkinson also faces a second charge of accosting a different man in the same location the day prior. — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026

Sometimes that was impossible, such as when he was accosted in a car park by Jose Mourinho and at the airport by Roma fans after the 2023 Europa League final, but not for lack of trying. — Graham Scott, New York Times, 23 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French accoster, going back to Old French, "to go alongside of, sail along the coast of, place (a vessel) beside another" (sʼacoster a "to take a place beside, draw near, support"), probably going back to Vulgar Latin *accostāre, from Latin ad- ad- + costa "rib, side" — more at coast entry 1

Note: A common, polysemous verb in Anglo-French, though the English verb, which only begins to appear in the late 16th century, is apparently borrowed directly from Continental French. The sense "to approach and speak to" only appears in French in the early 17th century, about the same time that it appears in English.

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for accost

• crisscrossed
• defrost
• embossed
• exhaust
• recrossed
• uncrossed
• bossed
• cost
• crossed
• dost
• glossed
• lost

Kids Definition

accost

verb

ac·​cost ə-ˈkȯst 

-ˈkäst

: to approach and speak to often in a challenging or aggressive way