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
Called the AQS-24, the technology merges sonar with laser mine scanning and human command and control to sustain high-resolution countermine sensing and identification at speeds as fast as 18-knots.
From Fox News ● Feb. 28, 2020
But if the defenders are active, they will countermine.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various
For it was clear, was it not, that her mines must be countermined for her own sake and that of her belongings?
From My Lords of Strogue, Vol. I (of III) A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union by Lewis Wingfield
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
I thought to take her by surprise at that very point, and right there she has countermined.
From The Cavalier by George Washington Cable
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.
Plainly I read between the lines that our plot had been discovered, that we had been countermined.
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
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
She would have considerable pleasure in countermining Mr. and Mrs. Tappitt.
From Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope
Then commences a lively contest to determine who can dig the fastest, and make the most rapid progress in this contest of mining and countermining.
From Mexico and its Religion With Incidents of Travel in That Country During Parts of the Years 1851-52-53-54, and Historical Notices of Events Connected With Places Visited by Robert A. Wilson
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