countermine
Americannoun
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Military. a mine intended to intercept or destroy an enemy mine.
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a counterplot.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to make a countermine.
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Military. to intercept or destroy enemy mines.
noun
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military a tunnel dug to defeat similar activities by an enemy
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a plot to frustrate another plot
verb
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to frustrate by countermeasures
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military to take measures to defeat the underground operations of (an enemy)
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military to destroy enemy mines in (an area) with mines of one's own
Etymology
Origin of countermine
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at counter-, mine 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A U.S. defense official said the military was using a combination of manned and unmanned capabilities in the countermine operation, but declined to comment on operational specifics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
Navy’s countermine capabilities as it retires traditional minesweepers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
Extremely few flag officers ever served as countermine officers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
The growing modern mine threat is so significant, that the Navy has been fast-tracking a wide range of new countermine attack and defense strategies.
From Fox News ● Feb. 28, 2020
Having to come away furtively like this was a terrible countermine beneath her courage.
From The Real Adventure by Crosby, Raymond Moreau
Plainly I read between the lines that our plot had been discovered, that we had been countermined.
From The Iron Heel by London, Jack
The mine was countermined; but the continual labour to which the besieged were subjected became insupportable, and they were utterly unable to repair the many breaches in their works.
Perhaps she fancied she had countermined her opponents, and so felt secure.
From The Star-Chamber, Volume 1 An Historical Romance by Ainsworth, William Harrison
But I soon perceived that the ambassador had countermined me.
From Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini by Symonds, John Addington
I seemed to myself perpetually upon the brink of being countermined, and perpetually roused to guard my designs.
From Caleb Williams Or Things as They Are by Godwin, William
And many a U.S. diplomat, busily countermining the British, worries more about them than he does about the Russians.
From Time Magazine Archive
Whilst they played wits against me—against me who commanded nations, and intrigued for them, and fought for them, hundreds of years before they were born—I was countermining them.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
On the other hand, the official police were helped for a time by zealous loyalists, who formed a "Holy Band" for secretly countermining the Nihilist organisation.
From The Development of the European Nations, 1870-1914 (5th ed.) by Rose, John Holland
Having imparted this discovery to his friend Hatchway, they came to a resolution of countermining the plan of their enemies.
From The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Smollett, T. (Tobias)
The apothecary is perpetually employed in countermining the cook and the vintner.
From The Young Gentleman and Lady's Monitor, and English Teacher's Assistant by Moore, John Hamilton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
