# counter

Pronunciation: US say "KOWN-tur" /ˈkaʊn.tɚ/; UK say "KOWN-tuh" /ˈkaʊn.tə/

## Noun

1. A long flat surface in a shop, bank, or office across which customers are served, goods are shown, and money is handled.
   - Simple: The long table in a shop or bank where you are served or pay.
   - _The jeweler spread the rings out on the counter for us to compare._
   - _She waited at the counter while the clerk wrapped her bread in brown paper and counted out her change._
3. A flat surface, often built above cabinets, especially in a kitchen or bathroom, used for preparing food or holding a sink.
   - Simple: A flat top, often above cupboards, in a kitchen or bathroom, where you prepare food or put things.
   - _He set the groceries down on the counter and started unpacking._
   - _Granite counters remain popular in newer homes despite the cost._
6. A device or display that counts and shows how many times something happens, such as a machine's turns or a web page's visits.
   - Simple: A machine or display that counts how many times something happens and shows the number.
   - _She added a counter to her blog to track how many readers stopped by._
   - _The forum's counter ticked past a million views during the tournament._
7. In sports and fighting, a move or attack made in reply to an opponent's attack.
   - Simple: In sport or fighting, a quick move or attack you make back after the other side attacks.
   - _The soccer team scored on a swift counter just before halftime._
   - _After soaking up pressure for most of the half, the visitors broke on the counter and scored with their first shot on goal._
8. Something that acts against, balances, or stands in contrast to something else.
   - Simple: A thing that is the opposite of another thing, or that goes against it.
   - _The film's hopeful ending serves as a counter to its bleak opening._
   - _Regular exercise is a useful counter to long hours spent sitting at a desk._
10. A variable or memory location whose value is incremented to keep a count of events or repetitions.
   - Simple: A number that a computer keeps and adds to each time something happens.
   - _The loop increments a counter on each pass through the array._
   - _The loop uses a counter that starts at zero and goes up by one on each pass, so the program knows when to stop._
11. A small object, now especially a flat disc, used in counting, keeping score, or as a marker in games.
   - Simple: A small object, often a flat disc, used for counting, keeping score, or marking a place in games.
   - _He slid a red counter onto the square to mark his move._
   - _Shopkeepers once tallied sums with counters on a ruled board._
12. A person who counts things, such as votes, money, stock, or people in a survey.
   - Simple: A person who counts things, like votes or people.
   - _Election officials hired extra counters to handle the record turnout._
   - _As the most experienced counter at the hawk watch, she could tally a passing flock of two hundred birds in seconds._
14. The part of a shoe or boot that encircles the wearer's heel, sitting above the heel of the sole.
   - Simple: The stiff back part of a shoe that wraps around your heel.
   - _Running shoes with a rigid counter keep the heel from sliding with each stride._
   - _The cobbler replaced the worn counter before restitching the lining._
15. On a ship, the section of the stern that juts out above the waterline, lying beneath and slightly ahead of the stern proper.
   - Simple: The back part of a boat that hangs out over the water.
   - _A following sea slapped rhythmically beneath the counter all night._
   - _The schooner's long counter gave her stern a graceful sweep._
16. The enclosed or partly enclosed negative space within a glyph, such as the interior of an 'o' or the opening of a 'c.'
   - Simple: The empty space inside a letter, like the hole in the letter 'o.'
   - _The designer enlarged the counters to keep the typeface legible at small sizes._
   - _Ink can clog the counter of a lowercase 'e' when the press runs fast._
17. A word used together with a numeral to count objects or events; rare and optional in English but numerous and normally required in languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
   - Simple: A word used with a number when counting things, like 'head' in 'twenty head of cattle.'
   - _Korean uses one counter for animals and a different one for machines._
   - _The phrase 'twenty head of cattle' preserves one of English's few surviving counters._
18. In curling, a stone in or touching the house that lies nearer its center than every opposing stone and counts toward its team's score.
   - Simple: In curling, a stone in or touching the target area, closer to its center than every opposing stone.
   - _With the hammer, she drew around the guard to add a second counter._
   - _Her final stone curled in behind the guard and sat as the only counter, giving her team a single point in the end._
19. A countertenor voice or part; formerly, any lower part set against the main melody.
   - Simple: A man's high singing voice, also called a countertenor.
   - _The manuscript gives the counter a line that climbs well above the tenor, written for a man singing in a light, high voice._
   - _In Georgian church music the counter usually lay between the treble and the tenor and was sung by men with light, high voices._

## Verb

2. To contradict or oppose a person, statement, or action.
   - Simple: To say or show that something is wrong, or to act against it.
   - _The defense attorney countered every point the prosecution raised._
   - _Critics will counter that the data is incomplete._
4. To take action in response to something; to respond with a move of one's own.
   - Simple: To do something in answer to what someone else has done.
   - _The company countered the lawsuit by filing one of its own._
   - _Chess players learn to counter aggressive openings with solid development._
13. In boxing and similar sports, to hit back at an opponent in reply to their attack, often just as one blocks or slips it.
   - Simple: To hit back right after someone tries to hit you, as in boxing.
   - _The champion slipped the jab and countered with a right cross._
   - _Skilled fighters counter the moment an opponent's punch misses._

## Adjective

5. Contrary or opposing in direction, purpose, or effect.
   - Simple: Going against something, or being the opposite of it.
   - _Cutting the training budget now would be counter to the company's stated goal of keeping its most skilled staff._
   - _Her proposal was directly counter to the committee's recommendation._

## Adverb

9. In the opposite direction or in opposition, describing how something runs, goes, or acts, usually followed by to.
   - Simple: In the opposite direction, or against something.
   - _The committee's decision ran counter to public opinion._
   - _Salmon swim counter to the current on their way upstream._

## Noun

20. An encounter; a meeting, especially a sudden or hostile one. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A meeting with someone, often sudden, or a fight between two sides.

## Verb

21. To encounter; to meet or come upon, often face to face or in opposition. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To meet someone or something, often suddenly or in a fight.

## Other meanings

- (noun) The breast of a horse; the part of the body between the shoulders and beneath the neck.
- (noun) Formerly, a prison attached to a city court, as in London; also known as a compter.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3, 6, 10–12, 17–18** — It came through Middle English countour, which merged Old French conteor ('one who counts') and Middle French contoir ('counting table'), both built on Latin computō ('to count'); it is the same as count plus -er, and a doublet of cantore, computer, and kontor.
**Meanings 2, 4–5, 7–9, 13–16, 19–21** — Latin contra ('against') is the source; it reached English through two closely related forms, Old French contre and Anglo-Norman cuntre.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/counter (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).