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Definition of "counterclaim" [coun•ter•claim]

  • A claim filed in opposition to another claim, especially in a legal action. (noun)
  • To plead an opposing claim or make an opposing claim against. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "counterclaim" in a sentence
  • "This changes the dynamic of litigation, even if the chance of success of a counterclaim is low."
  • "The best counterclaim is that … while purporting to do these things … it fails at almost everyone."
  • "In the Hymn to Hermes we find for the first time the expression δίκην διδόναι καὶ δέχεσθαι to describe the claim and counterclaim which is to be submitted to adjudication, and which is, in this case, to be weighed on Zeus '“scales of dikē” (312, 324)."