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:
Navy’s countermine capabilities as it retires traditional minesweepers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
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
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 Raymond Moreau Crosby
The mine had through treachery of some sort been countermined.
From My Lords of Strogue, Vol. II (of III) A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union by Lewis Wingfield
Israel soon discovered, that though rejoiced to welcome the return of the prodigal son—so some called him—his father still remained inflexibly determined against the match, and still inexplicably countermined his wooing.
From Israel Potter by Herman Melville
Plainly I read between the lines that our plot had been discovered, that we had been countermined.
From The Iron Heel by Jack London
The morning came, the long desired sun arose, and all his plots were countermined, all his hopes of immediate action paralyzed, if not utterly destroyed.
From The Roman Traitor, Vol. 1 by Henry William Herbert
We mined the organization of the Iron Heel with our secret agents, and the Iron Heel countermined with its secret agents inside its own organization.
From The Iron Heel by Jack London
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
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 sentry in the firebay, or the hov'ring 'plane, Mining and countermining yet again.
From Over the Top With the Third Australian Division by Neil McBeath
The last few weeks were further enlivened by the knowledge that the Austrians were countermining against us.
From World's War Events, Vol. II by Francis J. (Francis Joseph) Reynolds
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