accost

verb

ac·​cost ə-ˈkȯst 

-ˈkäst

accosted; accosting; accosts

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

As Milo is accosted by an amorous fan at a restaurant, the pair look stunned. —Lisa Kennedy, New York Times, 1 May 2025

Instead of hanging 10, some surfers in Newport Beach had to cut and run after they were accosted by an aggressive sea lion. —Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025

The victim was walking with a friend to a convenience store on Boynton Avenue and the pair was passing Starbird Park when they were accosted by three men, according to San Jose police. —Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2025

LeBron has also fought for his son, accosting ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith at courtside of a recent Lakers game and rebuking him for making his criticism too personal. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for accost

• crisscrossed
• defrost
• embossed
• exhaust
• recrossed
• uncrossed
• bossed
• cost
• crossed
• dost
• glossed
• lost

Kids Definition

accost

verb

ac·​cost ə-ˈkȯst 

-ˈkäst

: to approach and speak to often in a challenging or aggressive way