How to Use accost in a Sentence

accost

verb
  • He was accosted by three gang members on the subway.
  • She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.
  • Sometimes the school nurse would accost me in the halls.
    — Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
  • No one accosted us, though strangers loved to talk about the car.
    — Lauren Oster, Redbook, 26 June 2018
  • Kaiser said that some base workers have been accosted while in uniform.
    — Author: Colleen Shalby, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Feb. 2020
  • No child should be walking down the hall or in a locker room and be accosted with a noose around their neck.
    — Essence.com, 15 Sep. 2017
  • He is constantly accosted by guests who want to hug him and take pictures with him.
    — Brent Lang, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
  • He gets accosted by a gang of tough tweens in a post apocalyptic hellscape.
    — Matt Miller, Esquire, 18 Jan. 2018
  • Brown had to confront angry critics as well, some of whom accosted him on the street.
    — Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Apr. 2018
  • The deputy was charged with one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes.
    — Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2023
  • As Milo is accosted by an amorous fan at a restaurant, the pair look stunned.
    — Lisa Kennedy, New York Times, 1 May 2025
  • Ozturk was accosted on the street and whisked away in an unmarked vehicle.
    — Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Biden isn’t the only candidate to have been accosted at a campaign event.
    — Alexandra Jaffe, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Mar. 2020
  • The driver then turned the van around and continued accosting him — that's where the video begins.
    — Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 27 Feb. 2025
  • During the months those episodes aired, the couple were accosted by locals with strong opinions.
    — New York Times, 5 July 2019
  • The agent accosted and then fired on Routh, who fled in his car and was arrested a short time later.
    — Greg Allen, NPR, 4 Feb. 2026
  • After Booth fired the fatal shot, Rathbone tried to accost him.
    — Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2022
  • As a result, Manuel said, Phelan's wife was accosted in her home.
    — John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
  • But outside the plant the white strikers accosted Rouse and threatened him.
    — Dave Lieber, Dallas News, 14 Apr. 2023
  • Vanderbilt accosted Redick on the court and had to be restrained.
    — Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Twice they were accosted by the curious predators, which attacked the boat's hull.
    — Leah Silverman, Town & Country, 27 Oct. 2017
  • Fallon quipped that White must not be able to leave the house for fear of actors accosting him asking to be on the show.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2026
  • On the third night the truck appears, Ally accosts a person in a hazmat suit spraying her lawn.
    — Amy MacKelden, Harper's BAZAAR, 20 Sep. 2017
  • Sirens of ambulances and fire trucks wailed as the police chased and accosted the protesters.
    — Chris Buckley, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2019
  • The last thing any Twitter user wants is to be accosted by one’s followers.
    — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 5 Oct. 2018
  • Server Josh Garner says he was accosted last week by an angry man.
    — Tovia Smith, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The 15-year-old victim was walking home when he was accosted by three male attackers.
    — Jeff Weiner, OrlandoSentinel.com, 31 Mar. 2018
  • Jane talks about what the protestors were angry about, and why a reporter outside the statehouse got accosted last week.
    — Laura Johnston, cleveland, 4 May 2020
  • Indeed, to walk through a crowded room with Talese, 92, is to be accosted by men wanting to talk about suits.
    — Sadie Stein, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
  • The masked gunmen, dressed all in black, accosted the workers in a hallway and forced them into a room at gunpoint, the police said.
    — New York Times, 8 Mar. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'accost.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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