meet

1 of 3

verb

met ˈmet How to pronounce meet (audio) ; meeting; meets

transitive verb

1
a
: to come into the presence of for the first time : to be introduced to or become acquainted with
I'm pleased to meet you.
Where did you two meet each other?
I met him in college.
We met her through a mutual friend.
b
: to come together with especially at a particular time or place
I'll meet you at the station
c
: to come into contact or conjunction with : join
There is where the brook meets the river.
d
: to appear to the perception of
a pungent odor … met his nostrilsS. E. White
2
: to encounter as antagonist (see antagonist sense 1) or foe : oppose
met the heavyweight in a successful bout
3
: to enter into conference, argument, or personal dealings with
We met her over coffee.
4
: to conform to especially with exactitude and precision
a concept to meet all requirements
5
: to pay fully : settle
could not meet his loansWaldo Frank
6
: to cope with
was able to meet every social situation
7
: to provide for
enough money to meet our needs
8
: to become acquainted with
I want you to meet my sister.
9
: encounter, experience
The proposal has met some opposition.
You will likely meet many obstacles on your journey.
He met an untimely death.
10
: to receive or greet in an official capacity
The president met the prime minister at the White House.

intransitive verb

1
a
: to come face-to-face
That's the restaurant where they met.
b
: to come together for a common purpose : assemble
The delegates met at the convention.
c
: to come together as contestants, opponents, or enemies
The candidates met for their debate.
2
: to form a junction or confluence
the lines meet in a point
3
: to occur together
many graces and many virtues meet in her
meeter noun

meet

2 of 3

noun

plural meets
1
chiefly US : a large gathering of athletes for a sports competition
a wrestling/gymnastic meet
the championship meet
… everyone has a personal laundry list of what generally ails track and field. Some say the failure to have more meets on television heads the list. But merely putting a meet on television won't solve the sport's failure to promote itself.William C. Rhoden
see also dual meet, quad meet, swim meet, track meet, tri-meet
2
chiefly British : a gathering of mounted hunters and their hunting dogs for hunting
When hunting with hounds was legal, I used to attend the Boxing Day meet in Newbury Market Place, hoping that the hunt members would have a jolly good day out but that the fox would get away.Roy Bailey Hungerford
It was so cold that I nursed a hope that a glass of cherry brandy … might be on offer at the meet. But no, we gathered at a gate leading to open country and the hills near which most of the foxhunters … mounted.W. F. Deedes
3
: an instance of coming together at a particular time or place especially for the first time
They set up a meet with a potential buyer.
So I confess to being a bit skeptical about meeting someone online, texting back and forth, finally arranging a meet, and having it develop into a committed lifelong relationship.Robert Kirby
see also meet and greet, swap meet

meet

3 of 3

adjective

archaic & dialectal British
: precisely adapted to a particular situation, need, or circumstance : very proper
… their ghosts … haunt the fires by which sit armed men, as is meet for the spirits of fearless warriors who died in battle.Joseph Conrad
meetly adverb
Phrases
meet halfway
: to compromise with
The senators met halfway on an energy bill.
We can't give you everything you've requested, but we can meet you halfway.
Can you meet us halfway on this? = Can we meet halfway on this?
meet with
: to be subjected to : encounter
the proposal met with opposition
Choose the Right Synonym for meet

fit, suitable, meet, proper, appropriate, fitting, apt, happy, felicitous mean right with respect to some end, need, use, or circumstance.

fit stresses adaptability and sometimes special readiness for use or action.

fit for battle

suitable implies an answering to requirements or demands.

clothes suitable for camping

meet suggests a just proportioning.

meet payment

proper suggests a suitability through essential nature or accordance with custom.

proper acknowledgement

appropriate implies eminent or distinctive fitness.

an appropriate gift

fitting implies harmony of mood or tone.

a fitting end

apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination.

apt quotations

happy suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate.

a happy choice of words

felicitous suggests an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful.

a felicitous phrase

Examples of meet in a Sentence

Verb He met his wife at work. We met each other in college. Did you meet anyone interesting at the party? I'd like you to meet my good friend Bob. The couple met at a dance. Have we met? You look familiar. They met for drinks after work. We arranged to meet for lunch. Let's meet at the park. They meet together every week. Noun a swim meet Adjective in this case, splitting the winnings of the contested lottery ticket seems like a meet solution
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The president will also meet with other European leaders on a range of issues. Michelle Stoddart, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2024 Whatever the costume, Murphy is confident her books will be met once again with the same enthusiasm as in years past. Sarah Scott, Parents, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
In photos posted on social media, the couple posed backstage at the stadium with members of their inner circle, including comedian Andrew Santino, who documented the meet up on Instagram. Escher Walcott, People.com, 9 Oct. 2024 Allison DeAngelis is the East Coast biotech and venture capital reporter at STAT, reporting where scientific ideas and money meet. Elaine Chen, STAT, 15 Aug. 2024
Adjective
During her sophomore year at St. Michael, Sarah Kate heard about an adaptive swim meet in Georgia and again asked her parents about participating and was authorized to take part in the pre-meet clinic. al, 1 Apr. 2021 Yet the story unfolds in fits and starts, jumping forward to get to the most fertile comedic territory while montage-ing its way through the central relationship after its meet-cute origins. Brian Lowry, CNN, 27 Jan. 2023 See all Example Sentences for meet 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'meet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English meten, from Old English mētan; akin to Old English gemōt assembly — more at moot entry 3

Adjective

Middle English mete, from Old English gemǣte; akin to Old English metan to mete

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1804, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of meet was before the 12th century

Cite this Entry

“Meet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meet. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

meet

1 of 3 verb
met ˈmet How to pronounce meet (audio) ; meeting
1
: to come by chance into the presence of : encounter
met an old friend
2
a
: to approach from the opposite direction
when you meet another car, keep to the right
b
: to touch and join or cross
a fork where two roads meet
3
: to go where a person or thing is or will be
agreed to meet me at school
4
a
: to become acquainted
the couple met at a dance
b
: to make the acquaintance of
met interesting people there
5
a
: to come together as opponents
the teams met in the finals
b
: to struggle against : oppose
was chosen to meet the champion
6
: match entry 2 sense 4a
tries to meet the competitor's price
7
: endure sense 2
meet defeat bravely
8
: to come together : assemble
meet for discussion
9
: to become noticed by
sounds that meet the ears
10
a
: to fulfill the requirements of : satisfy
met all our demands
b
: to pay fully : discharge
meet a financial obligation

meet

2 of 3 noun
: a meeting for sports competition
a track meet

meet

3 of 3 adjective
meetly adverb
Etymology

Verb

Old English mētan "to meet"

Adjective

Old English gemǣte "proper"

More from Merriam-Webster on meet

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