I. meet 1 S1 W1 /miːt/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle met /met/)
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: metan ]
1 . SEE SOMEBODY AT AN ARRANGED PLACE [intransitive, transitive not in passive] to go to a place where someone will be at a particular time, according to an arrangement, so that you can talk or do something together:
Meet me at 8.00.
I’ll meet you by the main reception desk.
meet (somebody) for something
Why don’t we meet for lunch on Friday?
We arranged to meet outside the theatre.
2 . SEE SOMEBODY BY CHANCE [intransitive, transitive not in passive] to see someone by chance and talk to them SYN bump into :
You’ll never guess who I met in town.
I was worried I might meet Henry on the bus.
3 . SEE SOMEBODY FOR THE FIRST TIME [intransitive, transitive not in passive] to see and talk to someone for the first time, or be introduced to them:
We first met in Florence.
I met my husband at university.
Jane, come and meet my brother.
nice/pleased to meet you (=used to greet someone politely when you have just met them for the first time)
‘This is my niece, Sarah.’ ‘Pleased to meet you.’
(it was) nice meeting you (=used to say goodbye politely to someone you have just met for the first time)
4 . SEE SOMEBODY AT AN AIRPORT/STATION ETC [transitive] to be waiting for someone at an airport, station etc when they arrive in a plane or train:
My dad met us at the station.
I’ll come and meet you off the plane.
5 . COME TOGETHER TO DISCUSS SOMETHING [intransitive] to come together in the same place in order to discuss something:
The committee meets once a month.
The two groups will meet next week to discuss the project.
6 . COMPETE AGAINST SOMEBODY [intransitive, transitive not in passive] to play against another person or team in a competition, or to fight another army in a war:
Manchester United will meet Blackburn Rovers in the sixth round of the Cup.
The two armies finally met on the battlefield at Stamford Bridge.
7 . JOIN OR TOUCH [intransitive, transitive not in passive] if two things meet, they touch or join at a particular place:
The two roads meet just north of Flagstaff.
Their hands met under the table.
8 . EXPERIENCE A PROBLEM OR SITUATION [transitive] to experience a problem, attitude, or situation SYN encounter , come across :
Wherever she went she met hostility and prejudice.
9 . meet a problem/challenge to deal with a problem or something difficult that you have to do:
The new building will mean that we can meet the challenge of increasing student numbers.
10 . meet a need/demand/requirement/condition etc to do something that someone wants, needs, or expects you to do or be as good as they need, expect etc:
The company says it is unable to meet the workers’ demands for higher wages.
The service is tailored to meet your needs.
beaches which meet European standards of cleanliness
11 . meet a deadline to finish something at the time it is meant to be finished:
We are still hoping to meet the November deadline.
12 . meet a goal/target etc to achieve something that you are trying to achieve:
It’s impossible to meet the sales targets.
The scheme does not meet its objectives.
13 . meet a debt/cost/expense etc to make a payment that needs to be made:
The government has promised to meet the cost of clearing up after the floods.
14 . there’s more to somebody/something than meets the eye used to say that someone or something is more interesting, intelligent etc than they seem to be
15 . our/their eyes meet if two people’s eyes meet, they look at each other:
Our eyes met momentarily, then he looked away.
His eyes met Nina’s and she smiled.
16 . meet sb’s eye(s)/gaze/glance etc to look directly at someone who is looking at you:
Ruth looked down, unable to meet his eye.
She turned to meet his gaze.
17 . meet your eyes if something meets your eyes, you see it:
An extraordinary scene met our eyes as we entered the room.
18 . meet your match to compete against an opponent who is stronger or more skilful than you are:
I think he might have met his match in Simon.
19 . meet somebody halfway to do some of the things that someone wants, in order to reach an agreement with them
20 . meet (something) head-on
a) if two moving vehicles meet head-on, they are facing each other and hit each other suddenly and violently
b) if you meet a problem head-on, you deal with it directly without trying to avoid it
21 . meet your death/end to die in a particular way:
He met his death at the hands of enemy soldiers.
22 . meet your maker to die – used humorously
23 . meet your Waterloo to finally be defeated after you have been successful for a long time
⇨ make ends meet at ↑ end 1 (18)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ meet to be in the same place as someone else because you have arranged to see them:
I’ll meet you at the restaurant, OK?
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The two leaders are scheduled to meet again next month.
▪ get together informal to meet with a group of people, in order to do something together:
Why don’t we all get together and go out for a drink?
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Have the students get together in groups of four to work on the problem.
▪ come together if people come together, they meet in order to discuss things, exchange ideas etc:
Goldman persuaded the heads of the groups to come together for an informal conference.
▪ meet up informal if friends meet up, they meet in order to do something together:
We must meet up some time.
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Why don’t I meet up with you after lunch?
▪ gather if people gather somewhere, they come together in the same place in order to do something or see something:
Fans have started to gather outside the stadium.
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Angry crowds gathered in front of the US embassy.
▪ assemble formal if people assemble somewhere, they all come and stand together in the same place, especially as part of an officially arranged plan:
If the fire alarm rings, please assemble in the parking lot.
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The students began to assemble in the main hall.
meet up phrasal verb
1 . to meet someone in order to do something together:
We often meet up after work and go for a drink.
meet up with
I’ve got to go now, but I’ll meet up with you later.
2 . if roads, paths etc meet up, they join together at a particular place
meet up with
The path eventually meets up with the main road.
meet with somebody/something phrasal verb
1 . to have a meeting with someone:
Representatives of EU countries will meet with senior American politicians to discuss the trade crisis.
2 . ( also be met with something ) to get a particular reaction or result
meet with opposition/disapproval etc
His comments have met with widespread opposition.
meet with support/approval etc
Her ideas have met with support from doctors and health professionals.
meet with success/failure (=succeed or fail)
Our attempts at negotiation finally met with some success.
3 . meet with an accident formal to be injured or killed in an accident
II. meet 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . track meet especially American English a sports competition between people running races, jumping over bars etc
2 . British English an occasion when a group of people riding horses go out to hunt ↑ fox es
III. meet 3 BrE AmE adjective old use
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: gemæte ]
right or suitable