"Retrouver" y "rencontrer"

Question

J'ai utilisé le verbe "rencontrer" au lieu de "retrouver" pour "to meet." Quelle est la différence entre les deux verbes?

Accepted Answer

There are different words in French for meeting someone. 
Rencontrer = to meet someone by chance or for the first time. Sometimes "to run into someone".
Retrouver = to meet someone again after a long time, or a planned get-together.
Rejoindre = "to join up" with someone
Here is a more in-depth discussion of those and several other verbs: https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-vocabulary/to-meet-up-in-french-rencontrer-versus-retrouver-se-reunir-faire-la-connaissance/