1. Table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
   "Customers lined up at the deli counter to place their orders"
    
2. A person who counts things
   "The election counter carefully tallied each ballot"
    
3. Game equipment (as a piece of wood, plastic, or ivory) used for keeping a count or reserving a space in various card or board games
   "She moved her counter around the Monopoly board"
    
4. A calculator that keeps a record of the number of times something happens
   "The turnstile counter tracked the number of visitors to the museum";
   - tabulator
    
5. (computing) a register whose contents go through a regular series of states (usually states indicating consecutive integers)
   "The program used a counter to keep track of the number of iterations"
    
6. A piece of furniture that stands at the side of a dining room; has shelves and drawers
   "The counter in the kitchen provided extra storage space";
   - buffet, sideboard
    
7. A return punch (especially by a boxer)
   "His swift counter caught his opponent off guard";
   - counterpunch, parry
    
8. A quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
   "His clever counter left the heckler speechless";
   - rejoinder, retort, return, riposte, comeback
    
9. A piece of leather forming the back of a shoe or boot
   "a counter may be used to stiffen the material around the heel and to give support to the foot";
   - heel counter
    
10. (nautical) the overhanging stern of a vessel above the waterline
    "The ship's counter provided additional buoyancy and improved its hydrodynamics"

1. Speak in response
   "He countered with some very persuasive arguments"
    
2. Act in advance of; deal with ahead of time
   "The company countered the market shift and adjusted its strategy accordingly";
   - anticipate, foresee, forestall

1. Opposed to or resistant to something
   "The two groups held counter positions on the issue";
   - antagonistic

1. In the opposite direction
   "run counter"

1. Opposite, complementary

Derived forms: countered, countering, counters

See also: negative

Type of: act, actor, answer, article of furniture, biff [informal], calculating machine, calculator, clout, doer, dong [Austral, NZ, informal], furniture, game equipment, lick, move, piece of furniture, piece of leather, poke, punch, register, reply, respond, response, slug, table, worker

Part of: boot, dining room, dining-room, shoe

Encyclopedia: Counter, Wood Street