accost

verb

ac·​cost ə-ˈkȯst How to pronounce accost (audio)
-ˈkäst
accosted; accosting; accosts
Synonyms of accostnext

transitive verb

: to approach and speak to (someone) in an often challenging or aggressive way
He was accosted by a stranger on the street.

Examples of accost in a Sentence

He was accosted by three gang members on the subway. She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
In the club lounge, Wendy, our resident feminist, accosted me with today’s deal. —Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 3 Nov. 2024 Lin Manuel Miranda was in the building and Pretty Deadly accosted him with Playbills. —Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024 Jimmy Kimmel accosted Dune stars Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and Timothée Chalamet with the bucket, and Saturday Night Live aired a song about Marcello Hernández losing his virginity to it. —Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2024 At the end of episode 6, Lois is accosted by a masked man wielding a knife. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for accost 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French accoster, going back to Old French, "to go alongside of, sail along the coast of, place (a vessel) beside another" (sʼacoster a "to take a place beside, draw near, support"), probably going back to Vulgar Latin *accostāre, from Latin ad- ad- + costa "rib, side" — more at coast entry 1

Note: A common, polysemous verb in Anglo-French, though the English verb, which only begins to appear in the late 16th century, is apparently borrowed directly from Continental French. The sense "to approach and speak to" only appears in French in the early 17th century, about the same time that it appears in English.

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of accost was in 1567

Dictionary Entries Near accost

accord with

accost

accostable

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Accost.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accost. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

accost

verb
ac·​cost ə-ˈkȯst How to pronounce accost (audio)
-ˈkäst
: to approach and speak to often in a challenging or aggressive way

More from Merriam-Webster on accost

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for accost

Nglish: Translation of accost for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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