English Explanatory Dictionary

counter

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One who counts.
  2. A reckoner; someone who collects data by counting; an enumerator.
  3. An object (now especially a small disc) used in counting or keeping count, or as a marker in games, etc.
  4. A telltale; a contrivance attached to an engine, printing press, or other machine, for the purpose of counting the revolutions or the pulsations.
  5. A variable, memory location, etc. whose contents are incremented to keep a count.
  6. A hit counter.
  7. A table or board on which money is counted and over which business is transacted.
  8. A shop tabletop on which goods are examined, weighed or measured.
  9. In a kitchen, a surface, often built into the wall and above a cabinet, designed to be used for food preparation.
  10. In a bathroom, a surface, often built into the wall and above a cabinet, which holds the washbasin.
  11. Any stone lying closer to the center than any of the opponent's stones.
  12. The prison attached to a city court; a compter.
adv
  1. Contrary, in opposition; in an opposite direction.
  2. In the wrong way; contrary to the right course.
noun
  1. Something opposite or contrary to something else.
  2. A proactive defensive hold or move in reaction to a hold or move by one's opponent.
  3. The overhanging stern of a vessel above the waterline, below and somewhat forward of the stern proper.
  4. The piece of a shoe or a boot around the heel of the foot (above the heel of the shoe/boot).
  5. Alternative form of contra Formerly used to designate any under part which served for contrast to a principal part, but now used as equivalent to countertenor.
  6. The breast of a horse; that part of a horse between the shoulders and under the neck.
  7. The enclosed or partly closed negative space of a glyph.
  8. An encounter.
  9. counterattack
verb
  1. To contradict, oppose.
  2. To return a blow while receiving one, as in boxing.
  3. To take action in response to; to respond.
  4. To encounter.
adj
  1. Contrary or opposing
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈkaʊn.tə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-counter.wav /ˈkaʊn.tɚ/ [ˈkaʊ.ɾ̃ɚ] [ˈkʰaʊ̯.ɾ̃ɚ] [ˈkʰaʊ̯.nɚ]

Word forms

counter counters countering countered

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English countour, from Old French conteor (French comptoir), from Medieval Latin computātōrium, from Latin computō, equivalent to count + -er. Doublet of cantore, computer, and kontor.

Synonyms

measure word bench opposite contrasted opposed adverse antagonistic

Derived words

abbey counter anticounter axle counter bargaining counter bean counter bean-counter behind the counter card counter checkout counter clicker counter colony counter counter batten counter check counter clockwise counter culture counterful counterhand counter intelligence counterjumper counterless counterlike counterman counter password counter payment counterperson counterside counter statement counter strategy counter surf countertop counterwoman counterworker cross-counter decade counter frame counter Geiger counter Geiger-Müller counter hard counter head counter hit counter liquid scintillation counter lunch counter multicounter nail to the counter non-over-the-counter nucleocounter over the counter over-the-counter photocounter pollen counter program counter rev counter rivet counter run counter scintillation counter soda counter span counter time elapsed counter trade counter under the counter

Translations

Chinese Mandarin: 得分球 Chinese Mandarin: 計分石 /计分石 Finnish: vastatoimi Finnish: vastaehdotus Russian: противове́с Russian: противоде́йствие
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on C Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary