"meet sb/sth", "meet up with", and "meet with"

[JuliaRom]

Could you explain the difference between "meet sb/sth", "meet up with", and "meet with".

Thanks in advance.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Could you explain the difference between

"meet sb/sth"

That doesn't mean anything. Don't use it.

"meet up with"

Get together informally to do something - hang out, go to lunch, go hiking, whatever:

Let's meet up with them tonight at seven in front of the theater.

"meet with"?

Get together more formally for a scheduled meeting:

We'll meet with the fundraising committee tomorrow.

Thanks.

Your thanks is obviously in advance. Just say:

- Thanks.
- Thank you.
- Many thanks.
- Thanks so much.

You're welcome!

 

[probus]

Meet someone is very common where I live. It signifies an unplanned meeting, unlike meet (up) with, which implies an advance plan.

I met Harold is synonymous with I bumped into Harold.

 

[Tarheel]

Maybe it's a regional thing. If I have a planned encounter with somebody I just say I'm going to meet them. (Example: "I'll meet you at your place.")

 

[GoesStation]

Maybe it's a regional thing. If I have a planned encounter with somebody I just say I'm going to meet them. (Example: "I'll meet you at your place.")

Me too. I would never understand I met Harold to mean "I bumped into Harold." If that usage was standard when I lived in Toronto forty years ago, I never noticed it.

 

[emsr2d2]

It depends on context.

"I met Harold forty years ago" clearly means "I met Harold for the first time forty years ago".
"I went into town and met Harold for lunch" suggests that I planned the meeting (and probably the lunch) in advance.
"You won't believe what happened this morning. I met Harold in the middle of the supermarket. We chatted for ages and we've arranged to go out for dinner next Tuesday" means I bumped into him unexpectedly.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Maybe it's a regional thing. If I have a planned encounter with somebody I just say I'm going to meet them. (Example: "I'll meet you at your place.")

Yes,I agree. That wasn't one of the choices Julia asked about, so I didn't mention it. I'm glad you did.

Buit what does sb/sth mean?

 

[Tarheel]

Meet sb - Meet somebody
Meet sth - Meet something (?)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Meet sb - Meet somebody
Meet sth - Meet something (?)

!

Are those some of those texty things, like lol and omg? Live and learn. I might need to find a TSL website! Thanks.

 

[Rover_KE]

sb and sth are non-standard abbreviations which we discourage here on the forum.

Dictionary editors use them to save space, rather than printing the words in full thousands of times.

 

[JuliaRom]

sb/sth -- somebody, something. I meant the use of "meet" without any prepositions, only if it is followed by direct object.

"I met my mom near the post office". As I understood if I say "I met my mom....." it means that I met her by chance? Can I say then "I meet a man in a grey hat every day near the supermarket".
Can we use "meet" to express everyday habits?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, you can.

 

[Tarheel]

"I met my mom near the post office" does not, by itself, mean you met her by chance. (American English.)

You can use "meet" the same way you use any other verb.

(a direct object)

 

[GoesStation]

"I met my mom near the post office". As I understood if I say "I met my mom....." it means that I met her by chance? Can I say then "I meet a man in a grey hat every day near the supermarket".
Can we use "meet" to express everyday habits?

It does not seem natural to me. If I encountered the same man repeatedly and by chance at the post office, I'd say I bumped into him. I'd reserve meet for an intentional encounter.

 

[Tarheel]

If you don't actually talk to him you might say:

I see a man in a gray hat every day near the supermarket.

If someone says they met somebody that says to me that they talked to each other even if only to exhange greetings.

 

[emsr2d2]

When I said "Yes, you can", I thought you meant that meeting the man in the hat was a habitual action done on purpose! If it's an accidental meeting, then no, "meet" doesn't work there. As GoesStation said, you bump into him every day or, as Tarheel said, you simply see him every day.

"Meet" suggests an actual encounter - at least a couple of words exchanged whether the meeting is accidental or planned.

We use "meet" in various ways and context is always helpful.