What's the past tense of "meet"?
The simple past tense of meet is met, and the past participle is also met. Use met for both simple past and past participle forms.
Definition of meet
The Oxford English Dictionary defines meet as "to come into the presence of; to be introduced to; to encounter or come together with." It's used in both literal and figurative senses, from physical encounters to fulfilling requirements or expectations.
- The past tense of meet is met.
- The past participle of meet is met.
Verb forms of 'meet'
Is "meet" a regular or irregular verb?
Note: Regular verbs end in -ed in the past tense. Any other verb ending is considered irregular.
While an irregular verb, 'meet' shows a highly common verb-conjugation pattern. Similar to other verbs like sleep/slept, feed/fed, and speed/sped, meet uses one form for all past tenses (and in the present perfect).
When to use "met" (past) vs. "met" (participle)
I met my friend for coffee yesterday.
We had met a few times before.
The participle form of a verb (shown in the second sentence) uses the auxiliary verb had in the past perfect tense. When the past participle verb form is paired with the auxiliary had, this creates the past perfect tense. We write in the past perfect tense when actions or events from the past relate to another past event, as evidenced with the example sentence 'We had met a few times before'.
The verb meet uses the same form for simple past tense and past participle. When used as a participle (shown in the second sentence), it requires an auxiliary verb like have, has, or had. The simple past doesn't use a helper verb since it's a complete tense, so met can stand alone in sentences, whereas participles require an auxiliary verb.
Similar irregular verbs
The verb meet follows a common irregular verb pattern where the past tense and past participle are identical. Many irregular verbs in English show this pattern with the same form for both past tense and past participle.
Sentence examples: meet, met, met
• I meet my friends for coffee every week.
• She meets new people at networking events.
• They meet the requirements for the job.
• I met my best friend in elementary school.
• The team met all of its goals for the quarter.
• She met her future husband at a conference.
• We have met several times before.
• The expectations have been met successfully.
• They had met the deadline before the meeting.
Synonyms & nearby words
Synonyms for meet
Nearby phrases
Origin of the verb meet
Middle English mēten, from Old English metan "to find, find out; fall in with, encounter, come into the same place with; obtain," from Proto-Germanic *motjanan.
FAQs
What is the past tense of "meet"?
What is the past participle of "meet"?
Is "meet" a regular or irregular verb?
When do you use "met" vs "meet"?
What are some common phrases with "meet"?
Sources
-
Oxford English Dictionary. "meet, v." OED Online. Oxford University Press. Date of access 15 Jan. 2025.
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Cambridge Dictionary. "meet." Cambridge University Press. Date of access 15 Jan. 2025.
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