counterpoint

American  

[koun-ter-point] / ˈkaʊn tərˌpɔɪnt /

noun

1. Music. the art of combining melodies.

2. Music. the texture resulting from the combining of individual melodic lines.

3. a melody composed to be combined with another melody.

4. Also called counterpoint rhythm.  Prosody. syncopation.

5. any element that is juxtaposed and contrasted with another.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to emphasize or clarify by contrast or juxtaposition.

counterpoint British  

/ ˈkaʊntəˌpɔɪnt /

noun

1. the technique involving the simultaneous sounding of two or more parts or melodies

2. a melody or part combined with another melody or part See also descant

3. the musical texture resulting from the simultaneous sounding of two or more melodies or parts

4. the application of the rules of counterpoint as an academic exercise

5. a contrasting or interacting element, theme, or item; foil

6. prosody the use of a stress or stresses at variance with the regular metrical stress

---

verb

1. (tr) to set in contrast

counterpoint Cultural  

1. The use of two or more melodies at the same time in a piece of music; it was an important part of baroque music. Certain composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, have been especially skillful at counterpoint.

---

Etymology

Origin of counterpoint

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French contrepoint, translation of Medieval Latin ( cantus ) contrāpūnctus literally, (song) pointed or pricked against, referring to notes of an accompaniment written over or under the notes of a plainsong. See counter-, point

Explanation

A counterpoint is something that contrasts, and to counterpoint is to provide a contrast. In music, counterpoint is when two separate melodies are played or sung at the same time. When a composer writes a piece of music using voices that follow different rhythms or pitches but ultimately come together harmonically, she uses counterpoint. And if you're on the school debate time, you might offer a counterpoint to an opponent's argument. You can also use this word as a verb to mean "to highlight difference:" "My tidy bookshelves counterpoint the mess of papers and books on my desk."

Example Sentences

Long seen as a philosophical counterpoint to “2001,” the film turns isolation inward, where the danger isn’t running out of resources but being unable to escape yourself.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

The IEA was formed after the Arab oil embargoes shook the world economy, as an oil consumers’ counterpoint to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

Guardiola's style has become the purists' template, while Klopp's explosive "heavy metal football" provided a thrilling counterpoint.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

Powell’s counterpoint is that while those possibilities are incorporated into the Fed’s projections, their magnitude and persistence remain uncertain.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

If we could listen to them all at once, fully orchestrated, in their immense ensemble, we might become aware of the counterpoint, the balance of tones and timbres and harmonics, the sonorities.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas