meet

The word “meet” means to come face to face with someone, whether by chance or by arrangement. In plain terms, to come together with a person or thing, whether socially, physically, or by satisfying some standard.

“Meet” is pronounced meet (/mit/ in IPA).

Here is “meet” used in a sentence: “We agreed to meet outside the cinema at seven.”

Depending on how it is used, “meet” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “meet” comes from Old English. From Old English metan ("to meet, find, encounter"), tracing back to a very old Germanic and Indo-European root meaning "to come together" — related to the word "moot.".

“Meet” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Meet” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to come face to face with someone, whether by chance or by arrangement.

All three sound alike. Meet is the verb for coming together with someone. Meat is the flesh of animals eaten as food. Mete is a rare verb meaning to hand out or distribute, usually 'mete out punishment.' Only meet involves people encountering one another; the others are entirely unrelated in meaning.

The past tense and past participle are both 'met' — 'We met yesterday' and 'I have met her before.' Meet is irregular, so it does not take '-ed.' Take care not to confuse the spelling with 'meat'; only the verb about encountering people is spelt m-e-e-t.

'Meet' often suggests a brief or chance encounter, or being introduced — 'I met her at a party.' 'Meet with' usually implies a planned, more formal discussion — 'The board met with investors.' In American English 'meet with' is common; British English tends to prefer plain 'meet' for arranged talks.

To meet someone halfway means to compromise — each side gives a little to reach agreement. The image is of two people walking toward each other and stopping in the middle. It is one of many idioms built on meet, alongside 'meet expectations' and 'make ends meet,' where the sense of coming together broadens.