encounter vs know

encounter

verb
  • To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly. 

  • To execute someone extrajudicially. 

  • To confront (someone or something) face to face. 

  • To engage in conflict, as with an enemy. 

noun
  • A sexual encounter; sexual activity, especially unplanned or unexpected, between people not in a sexual relationship, that usually does not lead to the establishment of a relationship, and may or may not happen again. A sexual encounter could be consensual or non-consensual; in the latter case, it is a sexual assault. A consensual sexual encounter that happens only once is commonly known as a one-night stand. 

  • A hostile, often violent meeting; a confrontation, skirmish, or clash, as between combatants. 

  • A meeting, especially one that is unplanned or unexpected. 

  • A match between two opposing sides. 

  • An extrajudicial killing or execution. 

know

verb
  • To be acquainted or familiar with; to have encountered. 

  • To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that. 

  • To experience. 

  • To understand or have a grasp of through experience or study. 

  • To be or become aware or cognizant. 

  • To be able to play or perform (a song or other piece of music). 

  • To be aware of; to be cognizant of. 

  • To recognize as the same (as someone or something previously encountered) after an absence or change. 

  • To have knowledge; to have information, be informed. 

noun
  • Knowledge; the state of knowing. 

  • Knowledge; the state of knowing; now confined to the fixed phrase ‘in the know’ 

How often have the words encounter and know occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )