counterplot

[ noun, verb koun-ter-plot; verb koun-ter-plot ]

/ noun, verb ˈkaʊn tərˌplɒt; verb ˌkaʊn tərˈplɒt /

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noun

a plot directed against another plot.

Literature. a secondary theme in a play or other literary work, used as a contrast to or variation of the main theme.Compare subplot.

verb (used without object), coun·ter·plot·ted, coun·ter·plot·ting.

to devise a counterplot.

verb (used with object), coun·ter·plot·ted, coun·ter·plot·ting.

to plot against (a plot or plotter).

Nearby words

counterperson, counterphobic, counterpin, counterplan, counterplea, counterplot, counterpoint, counterpoise, counterpoise bridge, counterpose, counterpressure

Origin of counterplot

First recorded in 1590–1600; counter- + plot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for counterplot

"We shall have a game of plot and counterplot before this ends, my man," he muttered.
Fort Lafayette or, Love and Secession|Benjamin Wood
She was warned in time, and thereupon hatched a counterplot for his destruction.
The Beautiful White Devil|Guy Boothby
But you are entirely in the dark as to the purport of all this plot and counterplot?
A Traitor's Wooing|Headon Hill
The king is only, or he appears, tricksy because you compel him to wind and counterplot.
Vittoria, Complete|George Meredith

It was as though nature had stopped her orchestra in disgust at the plot and counterplot brewing on her darkened stage.
The Crime Doctor|Ernest William Hornung

British Dictionary definitions for counterplot

counterplot

/ (ˈkaʊntəˌplɒt) /

noun

a plot designed to frustrate another plot

verb -plots, -plotting or -plotted

(tr) to oppose with a counterplot

(intr) to devise or carry out a counterplot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012