What does encontrar in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word encontrar in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use encontrar in Spanish.

The word encontrar in Spanish means find, discover, meet, find, bump into , run into, meet, find yourself, meet your match, find it interesting that, find a way of, meet your death. To learn more, please see the details below.

Listen to pronunciation

Meaning of the word encontrar

find

verbo transitivo (hallar algo)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Los buzos encontraron un tesoro en el pecio.
The divers found a treasure in the wreckage of the ship.

discover

verbo transitivo (descubrir algo)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Los científicos encontraron una vacuna contra la malaria.
The scientists discovered a vaccine against malaria.

meet

verbo transitivo (ver: personas) (planned)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Encontré a tu hermano en el cine.
I met your brother at the cinema.

find

verbo pronominal (hallar por casualidad) (by chance)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El pequeño se encontró un billete de cien pesos en el suelo.
The little boy found a one-hundred peso note on the ground.

bump into , run into

(toparse con alguien)

(phrasal verb, transitive, inseparable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, not divisible--for example,"go with" [=combine nicely]: "Those red shoes don't go with my dress." NOT [S]"Those red shoes don't go my dress with."[/S])
Hoy me encontré con mi exnovio en el supermercado; estaba con una rubia guapísima.
I bumped into my ex-boyfriend at the supermarket today. He was with a very beautiful blonde girl.

meet

verbo pronominal (unir, converger)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
Las líneas secantes se encuentran en un punto.
The intersecting lines meet at a single point.

find yourself

verbo pronominal (hallarse)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Los refugiados se encuentran en una situación desesperada.
The refugees find themselves in a desperate situation.

meet your match

verbo transitivo (coloquial (encontrar rival de nivel)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Siempre se salía con la suya pero, esta vez, ha encontrado la horma de su zapato.
He always used to get his own way, but this time he has met his match.

find it interesting that

locución verbal (juzgar importante)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Encuentro interesante que conviertan el aire en electricidad.
I find it interesting that wind can be converted into electricity.

find a way of

(hallar un modo para) (with gerund)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
El gato encontró la forma de abrir la alacena para robar comida.
The cat found a way of opening the pantry to steal food.

meet your death

locución verbal (morir)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Por desgracia, las jóvenes encontraron la muerte en su viaje al extranjero.
Unfortunately, the young women met their death on their trip abroad.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of encontrar in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.