counter

B1 Topic:Shopping & Services

US /ˈkaʊn.tɚ/ UK /ˈkaʊn.tə/ See IPA manual

Freq #4136

Meanings

1

noun
A long, flat surface in a shop, kitchen, or bank where people are served.

She paid for her groceries at the counter.
2

noun
A small object, often a disc, used for counting or as a marker in games.

He moved his counter forward six spaces on the board.
3

verb
To reply or react in order to oppose something.

She countered his argument with some convincing facts.
4

adv
In the opposite direction to something.

His decision ran counter to everyone's advice.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms counteredcounteringcounters

Derived forms anticounterbean-countercounterfulcounterhandcounterjumpercounterlesscounterlikecountermancounterpersoncountersidecountertopcounterwoman

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English countour, from Old French conteor (French comptoir), from Medieval Latin computātōrium, from Latin computō, equivalent to count + -er. Doublet of cantore, computer, and kontor.

countour Middle English conteor Old French computātōrium la-med computō Latin

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# counter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb, adv
**IPA (US):** /ˈkaʊn.tɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkaʊn.tə/
**Frequency rank:** 4136

## Meanings
1. A long, flat surface in a shop, kitchen, or bank where people are served.
2. A small object, often a disc, used for counting or as a marker in games.
3. To reply or react in order to oppose something.
4. In the opposite direction to something.

## Examples
- She paid for her groceries at the counter.
- He moved his counter forward six spaces on the board.
- She countered his argument with some convincing facts.
- His decision ran counter to everyone's advice.

## Derived Forms
- anticounter
- bean-counter
- counterful
- counterhand
- counterjumper
- counterless
- counterlike
- counterman
- counterperson
- counterside
- countertop
- counterwoman

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: countour
- Root: conteor
- Root: computātōrium
- Root: computō

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English countour, from Old French conteor (French comptoir), from Medieval Latin computātōrium, from Latin computō, equivalent to count + -er. Doublet of cantore, computer, and kontor.

## AI Etymology
counter is inherited from Middle English countour, from Old French conteor (French comptoir), from Medieval Latin computātōrium, from Latin computō, equivalent to count + -er. Doublet of cantore, computer, and kontor. The historical chain includes Middle English countour, Old French conteor, la-med computātōrium, Latin computō. Current senses include A long, flat surface in a shop, kitchen, or bank where people are served and A small object, often a disc, used for counting or as a marker in games. English relatives and later formations include anticounter, bean-counter, counterful.

## Topics
- Shopping & Services

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