Definition of counter

• adv. - A prefix meaning contrary, opposite, in opposition; as, counteract, counterbalance, countercheck. See Counter, adv. & a.
• v. t. - One who counts, or reckons up; a calculator; a reckoner.
• v. t. - A piece of metal, ivory, wood, or bone, used in reckoning, in keeping account of games, etc.
• v. t. - Money; coin; -- used in contempt.
• v. t. - A prison; either of two prisons formerly in London.
• v. t. - A telltale; a contrivance attached to an engine, printing press, or other machine, for the purpose of counting the revolutions or the pulsations.
• v. t. - A table or board on which money is counted and over which business is transacted; a long, narrow table or bench, on which goods are laid for examination by purchasers, or on which they are weighed or measured.
• adv. - Contrary; in opposition; in an opposite direction; contrariwise; -- used chiefly with run or go.
• adv. - In the wrong way; contrary to the right course; as, a hound that runs counter.
• adv. - At or against the front or face.
• a. - Contrary; opposite; contrasted; opposed; adverse; antagonistic; as, a counter current; a counter revolution; a counter poison; a counter agent; counter fugue.
• adv. - The after part of a vessel's body, from the water line to the stern, -- below and somewhat forward of the stern proper.
• adv. - Same as Contra. Formerly used to designate any under part which served for contrast to a principal part, but now used as equivalent to counter tenor.
• adv. - The breast, or that part of a horse between the shoulders and under the neck.
• adv. - The back leather or heel part of a boot.
• n. - An encounter.
• v. i. - To return a blow while receiving one, as in boxing.