Encounter
Encounter verb - To come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face.
Usage example: quite unexpectedly encountered our next-door neighbor while vacationing in Europe
Stumble upon and encounter are semantically related In some cases you can use "Stumble upon" instead a verb "Encounter".
Nearby Words: encountered, encountering
Stumble upon
Stumble upon verb - To come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face.
Usage example: stumbled upon an old acquaintance at the airport
Encounter and stumble upon are semantically related in lay hands on topic. You can use "Encounter" instead a verb "Stumble upon".
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
Both terms in one sentence
- In Kingdom of Loathing, during an encounter with a sleazy ghost in Dreadsylvania, your adventurer might stumble upon an abandoned bordello advertising a "Dreadsylvania Apricot Twist".
Source: Comic Sutra -
They soon stumble upon the Tenth and Seventh Doctors, and eventually encounter Doctors, companions and friends from all over time and space.
Source: Video Game / Doctor Who Legacy
Cite this Source
Stumble upon and Encounter. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 01, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/encounter/stumble_upon
Encounter & Stumble upon. N.p., 2016. Web. 01 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/encounter/stumble_upon>.
Stumble upon or Encounter. 2016. Accessed August 01, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/encounter/stumble_upon.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "encounter" and "stumble upon" have occurred on timeline