accost
verb /əˈkɒst/
/əˈkɔːst/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they accost | /əˈkɒst/ /əˈkɔːst/ |
| he / she / it accosts | /əˈkɒsts/ /əˈkɔːsts/ |
| past simple accosted | /əˈkɒstɪd/ /əˈkɔːstɪd/ |
| past participle accosted | /əˈkɒstɪd/ /əˈkɔːstɪd/ |
| -ing form accosting | /əˈkɒstɪŋ/ /əˈkɔːstɪŋ/ |
- accost somebody to go up to somebody and speak to them, especially in a way that is rude or frightening
- She was accosted in the street by a complete stranger.
Word Originlate 16th cent. (originally in the sense ‘lie or go alongside’): from French accoster, from Italian accostare, from Latin ad- ‘to’ + costa ‘rib, side’.