Definition of "countercyclical" [countercyclical]

• Intended to compensate for immoderate developments in a business cycle: a countercyclical federal aid program. (adjective)

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.

• "In particular, Norm Ornstein has a piece in today's WaPo that presents the classic liberal position against requiring the federal government to balance its budget: A sagging economy requires what we call countercyclical policy, stimulus to counter a downturn and provide a boost…."
• "Thank you Norm for lowering yourself to our level long enough to explain "what we call countercyclical policy.""
• "DTM: I agree – I think that making our capital requirements countercyclical is super important and a low cost way to do a lot of good."