A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

meet something • meet with something
meet something —
1
. be next to smth.; join together: We had
rounded Cape Point, where the Atlantic meets the Indian
Ocean. 2. encounter or confront smth.: Sometimes he meets
a situation for which his moral rules do not provide. 3. deal
satisfactorily with smth.: We will be able to meet this chal-
lenge — not on our own but, rather, by collaborating with our
many colleagues. 4. (of demands, standards, etc.) satisfy: It’s
sad to tell students that they couldn’t stay because they didn’t
meet the requirements.
meet with smth.—
1
. find smth. (by chance): By applying to
advertising offices I should have no doubt of very soon meeting
with something that would do. 2. suffer or experience smth.:
Her husband has met with a slight accident, but he isn’t seri-
ously hurt. 3. = meet something 2: Liberalization meets with
a situation in which many of the state’s institutions are dele-
gitimized and ineffective. 4. (of an idea, opinion, etc.) be re -
ceived: A number of member states tried to renegotiate the
clause but met with a firm refusal. 5. correspond to smth.; be
in keeping with smth.: The plan you submitted seems to meet
with the committee’s idea on the subject.
men in the street • street people
men in the street—common people: This BBC camera crew
went round collecting close-ups of men in the street saying
what they think of things.
street people —people who live in the streets; homeless people:
There are a lot of cold street people at this time of the year.
merge into something • merge with something
merge into something —
1
. mix with smth., so as to become
part of it: As new data become available, the information will
be merged into the report. 2. fade or change gradually into
smth.: The shadows merged into darkness as we huddled
together around the fire’s flickering light and comfort.
merge with something —(of business companies, etc.) combine
to become one unit: The regional bank merged with the city
bank in order to recover from a large amount of bad debt.