accost

verb

Definition of accostnext
as in to confront
to approach and speak to (someone) often in an angry, aggressive, or unwanted way He was accosted by peddlers selling touristy trinkets on the street. She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of accost In that dialogue, Endymion, the mythical shepherd, is imprisoned in an eternal sleep by Artemis and accosts a stranger who is on his way to Mount Latmus, where Endymion repairs each night to wait for Artemis. — Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026 At half-time of the mostly engrossing, controversial Manchester derby on Sunday, Marc Guehi was accosted by a Sky Sports reporter and asked a few questions. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 Osama, donning his bulletproof blue press jacket and armed with his camera, is accosted by a woman wailing that 200 of her neighbors are gone. — Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026 According to a police affidavit, Sanchez accosted Perry Tole after the Indiana resident had backed his truck into the loading docks of a downtown Indianapolis hotel. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for accost
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accost
  1. confront
  2. approach
  3. encounter
Verb
  • Netanyahu, two weeks out from close elections that could end his time in power, is again confronted with an issue that has drawn growing international condemnation.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The question confronting Israel and its international partners is not simply whether money should flow into Gaza, but also who controls it—and whether the next arrangement will avoid the failures of the last.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of confront
Verb
  • With the presidential elections approaching next April, political parties are scrambling to position themselves in relation to a protest movement that has shown no sign of abating.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • As seen from Planet 2, Planet 1 will appear to approach on the inside lane, slow down, move to the outside lane and then fall away once again.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of approach
Verb
  • Building repairs can bring equipment or barriers into common areas, and unfinished work may leave a space looking different from the way residents normally encounter it.
    — Emma Clapp, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Birds breeding in one part of the continent may travel one route and encounter one set of environmental conditions, while members of the same species experience a completely different set of conditions along another route.
    — Amy L. Scarpignato, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of encounter

Browse Nearby Words

accords
accost
accosted
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Accost.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accost. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All