counterfeit
Americanadjective
noun
-
counterfeits
plural
-
an imitation intended to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; forgery.
- Synonyms:
- sham, falsification
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Archaic. a copy.
-
Archaic. a close likeness; portrait.
-
Obsolete. impostor; pretender.
verb (used with object)
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counterfeits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
counterfeited,
past participle, past
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counterfeiting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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counterfeits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
counterfeited,
past participle, past
-
counterfeiting
present participle
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to make counterfeits, as of money.
-
to feign; dissemble.
adjective
-
made in imitation of something genuine with the intent to deceive or defraud; forged
-
simulated; sham
counterfeit affection
noun
-
an imitation designed to deceive or defraud
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archaic an impostor; cheat
verb
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(tr) to make a fraudulent imitation of
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(intr) to make counterfeits
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to feign; simulate
-
(tr) to imitate; copy
Synonym Usage
See false.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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counterfeiternoun
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counterfeitnessnoun
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noncounterfeitadjective
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uncounterfeitedadjective
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counterfeitlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
counterfeitsimple
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counterfeitssimple
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have counterfeitedperfect
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has counterfeitedperfect
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am counterfeitingprogressive
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are counterfeitingprogressive
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is counterfeitingprogressive
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have been counterfeitingperfect progressive
-
has been counterfeitingperfect progressive
Past
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counterfeitedsimple
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had counterfeitedperfect
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was counterfeitingprogressive
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were counterfeitingprogressive
-
had been counterfeitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of counterfeit
First recorded in 1250–1300; (adjective) Middle English countrefet “false, forged,” from Anglo-French cuntrefet, Old French contrefait, contrefet, past participle of contrefaire, contrefere “to copy, imitate,” equivalent to conter- counter- + fere “to make, do,” ultimately from Latin facere ( see fact); (verb) Middle English countrefeten, verbal derivative of countrefet
Explanation
A counterfeit is a fake or a forgery. If you painted an uncanny copy of the "Mona Lisa" and tried to pass it off as the original, you'd have a counterfeit on your hands. An exact imitation of anything — a work of art, a ten dollar bill — is a counterfeit, and the act of creating the fake copy is the verb to counterfeit. You can also describe the forgery using the adjective form of counterfeit: a counterfeit Rolex watch. In Old French, the word contre, "counter or against", together with the word faire, "to make," joined together to mean "to make in imitation," which led to our counterfeit.
Vocabulary lists containing counterfeit
Against All Odds: Contra and Counter
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Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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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.
See Examples For:
Yet many repair shops end up with substandard counterfeit parts that risk exploding during a crash or not deploying at all, according to court documents and regulators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
EBay is banning the sale of air bags and air-bag parts on its website, beginning next month, following multiple reports of fatalities involving components believed to be counterfeit and installed in used cars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Figures from Citizens Advice in 2025 showed a 30% rise in complaints about counterfeit goods being sold online over the previous year.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
It was only when Jodanna searched online that she found out that counterfeit squishy toys can contain chemicals such as phthalates and benzenes.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
“They paid like three hundred dollars to some scalper for counterfeit tickets!”
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
Shortly after, DTN said it believed the inflaters were counterfeits manufactured by another company, and that “the related accidents were not necessarily caused by a defect in the inflater.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The supply chain for most of Vietnam's counterfeits can be traced back across its northern border into China, where they are manufactured.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
They also are more flexible about storing goods like counterfeits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
He cited a US investigation which found a significant proportion of items that its researchers bought on Shein and Temu were likely counterfeits.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
And that among the many cheats, counterfeits, deceits and dodges he has to resort to, at times he may be seen:—
From A History of the Cries of London Ancient and Modern by Charles Hindley
The Chinese company, DTN Airbag, has said it doesn’t do business with customers in the U.S. and that it believes the company’s parts have been counterfeited.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Nine Italian nationals have been arrested and charged with trading in counterfeited goods.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2024
But Leas sees these documents as mostly marketing, and these reports can be counterfeited.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2024
“Love” stamp was counterfeited in a size larger than the authentic postage stamp.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 19, 2023
Each flower was made of glass or crystal, spun or carved, he could not tell: they counterfeited life perfectly.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
“It looks like the company’s seemingly blatant attempts at counterfeiting patented weight-loss drugs via compounding finally went too far,” said On the Street Substack author Herb Greenberg.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 9, 2026
The tech also assigns a counterfeiting risk score based on the company’s years of collecting information on real and fake items.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
Both men were charged with "counterfeiting medicines or medical products", and the 26-year-old also faces money-laundering charges.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
Petersen plays Richard Chance, a Secret Service agent assigned to investigate a counterfeiting ring in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
The figures around me weren't people, but shop dummies, painted to resemble people and propped up in attitudes counterfeiting life.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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.
