counterclaim
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- counterclaimant noun
Etymology
Origin of counterclaim
Explanation
When one person sues another in a court of law and the defendant responds by filing their own lawsuit against that person, that's a counterclaim. If your neighbor sues you because you're collecting junky cars in your shared driveway, you might file a counterclaim stating that they stole property when they hauled one of the old cars to the town dump. Another way to use this word is to mean "opposing argument." In a debate, when you state that school lunch should be free for everyone, your opponent may present a counterclaim that the income from selling food helps the school in the long run.
Vocabulary lists containing counterclaim
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 1
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Against All Odds: Contra and Counter
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Common Core Grades 7–8, List 1
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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.
Shell filed a counterclaim accusing Cipriani of extortion and defamation, while Paramount called the allegations “frivolous.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
“Cipriani did not come to Court to enforce some purported oral agreement. He came to complete a shakedown,” Shell said in his counterclaim.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
In their court submission, the club's lawyers asserted that the counterclaim was prompted by Mbappe's "deceptive behaviour during negotiations to revise his contract".
From BBC • May 15, 2025
An admission of guilt from the defendant didn't count as evidence, and if the defendant had a valid counterclaim, the divorce would be denied.
From Salon • Nov. 4, 2024
Nor could he make the counterclaim for a dissolving of the betrothal.
From We Can't Have Everything by Hughes, Rupert
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.
