counterclaim
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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counterclaimsimple
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counterclaimssimple
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have counterclaimedperfect
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has counterclaimedperfect
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am counterclaimingprogressive
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are counterclaimingprogressive
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is counterclaimingprogressive
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have been counterclaimingperfect progressive
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has been counterclaimingperfect progressive
Past
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counterclaimedsimple
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had counterclaimedperfect
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was counterclaimingprogressive
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were counterclaimingprogressive
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had been counterclaimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of counterclaim
Explanation
When one person sues another in a court of law and the defendant responds by filing their own lawsuit against that person, that's a counterclaim. If your neighbor sues you because you're collecting junky cars in your shared driveway, you might file a counterclaim stating that they stole property when they hauled one of the old cars to the town dump. Another way to use this word is to mean "opposing argument." In a debate, when you state that school lunch should be free for everyone, your opponent may present a counterclaim that the income from selling food helps the school in the long run.
Vocabulary lists containing counterclaim
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 1
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Against All Odds: Contra and Counter
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Common Core Grades 7–8, List 1
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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:
Shell filed a counterclaim, saying the two men met only twice and that Shell owed him nothing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
Shell filed a counterclaim against Cipriani this week accusing him of extortion and defamation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
The suit was filed as a counterclaim to a November lawsuit by Joby against Archer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
In their court submission, the club's lawyers asserted that the counterclaim was prompted by Mbappe's "deceptive behaviour during negotiations to revise his contract".
From BBC ● May 15, 2025
Don't take on so," she said kindly, and then remembering her treasured property, and probably fearing a counterclaim on my part to its possession, "But how can you be sure she was here?
From Quest of the Golden Girl, a Romance by Le Gallienne, Richard
In a statement on Wednesday, ARN said the settlement "provides for the full and final resolution of all claims and counterclaims between the parties".
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
In Joby’s motion to dismiss Archer’s counterclaims months later, Joby wrote that Archer was “attempting to recapture the narrative” and that its claims “do not deny that Joby is ahead.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
All claims and counterclaims were dismissed, the filing said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
But I don't think that any of us were prepared for the number, and the defamation claims, and the counterclaims to the defamation claims.
From Salon ● May 29, 2024
A certain leniency was however allowed to the heiress who was unwilling to marry an obnoxious kinsman, and to the kinsman who had counterclaims upon him in his own house.
From On The Structure of Greek Tribal Society: An Essay by Seebohm, Hugh E. (Hugh Exton)
Italy counterclaimed that after being found by Italian fishermen, it had been exported illegally from Italy.
From New York Times ● May 2, 2024
Then, American counterclaimed, saying Dad broke the contract by improperly using the companion feature.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 20, 2019
N. E. A. counterclaimed that not one of its 500 clients had dropped Hoople for Puffle.
From Time Magazine Archive
PP is counterclaiming £344,000 in ground rent, plus another £286,000 of interest and costs.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2025
All that counterclaiming and crossclaiming might be avoided by settling, but the large number of litigants and of lawyers — 15 at last count — still points to a protracted process, legal experts say.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2023
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.
