I. coun ‧ ter 1 S3 /ˈkaʊntə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ count , ↑ recount , ↑ counter ; verb : ↑ count , ↑ recount ; adjective : ↑ countable ≠ ↑ uncountable , ↑ countless ]
[ Sense 1-5: Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: comptour , from Medieval Latin computatorium 'counting place' , from Latin computare ; ⇨ ↑ compute ]
[ Sense 6-7: Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: conteor , from conter ; ⇨ ↑ count 1 ]
[ Sense 8: Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: contre , from contre 'against' ]
1 . the place where you pay or are served in a shop, bank, restaurant etc:
He wondered if the girl behind the counter recognised him.
2 . American English a long flat surface on top of a piece of furniture, especially in a kitchen SYN worktop British English
3 . over the counter drugs, medicines etc that are bought over the counter are ones that you can buy in a shop without a ↑ prescription from a doctor
4 . under the counter if you buy something under the counter, you buy it secretly and usually illegally:
It’s risky, but you can get alcohol under the counter.
5 . a small object that you use in some games that are played on a board
6 . a piece of electrical equipment that counts something:
Set the video counter to zero before you press play.
⇨ ↑ Geiger counter
7 . a computer program that counts the number of people who have visited a website
8 . an action that tries to prevent something bad from happening, or an argument that is used to prove that something is wrong
counter to
The road blocks were a counter to terrorist attacks in that area.
II. counter 2 BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: contre ; ⇨ ↑ counter 3 ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to say something in order to try to prove that what someone said was not true or as a reply to something:
‘I could ask the same thing of you,’ she countered.
counter an argument/an allegation/a criticism etc
He was determined to counter the bribery allegations.
2 . [transitive] to do something in order to prevent something bad from happening or to reduce its bad effects:
Exercise helps to counter the effects of stress.
III. counter 3 BrE AmE adjective , adverb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: contre , from Latin contra ; ⇨ ↑ contra- ]
be/run/go counter to something to be the opposite of something:
Some actions by the authorities ran counter to the President’s call for leniency.