count against

British  

verb

1. (intr, preposition) to have influence to the disadvantage of

   your bad timekeeping will count against you

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count against Idioms  

1. Be disadvantageous to, as in His earnings this year will count against his Social Security benefits. This idiom uses count in the sense of “make a reckoning,” in this case negative. [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

count against

Conte, 57, would appear to be a no-brainer of a choice to take over at United, but could the Italian's fiery nature and history of falling out with clubs count against him?

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

The biggest reason: a 529 plan is a state-sponsored college tuition account, so your mother’s gift won’t count against her grandchildren when applying for financial aid.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Hernández worked a full count against St. Louis closer Riley O’Brien with runners on first and second.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

That trial was designed to measure antibody levels rather than tracking flu infections, so Moderna wasn’t able to produce a head-to-head case count against Fluzone High-Dose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

“It still had a willow-patterned shell, d’you think that’ll count against me?”

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

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