Definition

To accost someone means to approach or speak to them in a confrontational, aggressive, or unwelcome way.

Pronunciation

US English

UK English


See Synonyms, Antonyms and Usage

Excerpts from News Articles

1

Obi was accosted by immigration officials at Heathrow on April 7, before being handed a detention note and “questioned for a long time,” the spokesperson for the Labour Party’s Campaign Council, Diran Onifade, revealed.

Logo 2023-04-14 RT News

2

Outside, the street was mobbed with Capitol Police officers and flag-wielding protesters holding signs with “Ron DeFascist” on them, who were cordoned off by yellow tape as they chanted, “DeSantis go home.” Some accosted attendees as they walked in or out, with pop ballads blasting out of speakers.

Logo 2023-04-18 Politico

3

In the late 1990s, the Left were screaming for a National Sorry Day and Howard was correctly refusing. Walking through Sydney airport at the time, dressed in a suit and carrying briefcase, I was accosted by a TV crew. Having a simple face used to attract anyone looking for a donation from someone gullible.

Logo 2023-04-23 The Spectator

4

Margera alleged in the lawsuit that Knoxville, Jonze and Tremaine made an unannounced visit to a drug rehabilitation facility in 2019 and “ accosted him and coerced him” into signing a “wellness agreement” that required frequent drug tests to remain involved in the franchise.

Logo 2023-04-25 MSNBC News

5

Viral clips of him abound. A particularly hilarious one captures him bursting into laughter with guests Marc Lamont Hill and Angela Rye, much to the chagrin of stony-faced conservative pundit Paris Dennard, after Dennard suggested that a Black man wearing a red MAGA cap to The Cheesecake Factory “shouldn’t be verbally accosted .” And who can forget Lemon’s annual appearances at CNN’s New Year’s Eve celebration?

Logo 2023-04-27 MSNBC News

6

Representation is a lot better than getting arrested, and it’s unlikely women will be accosted by police when the Synod on Synodality meets this October.

Logo 2023-04-28 CNN News