counterattack
noun
coun·ter·at·tack
ˈkau̇n-tər-ə-ˌtak 
variants
or counter-attack
plural counterattacks or counter-attacks
: an attack made in response to or in defense against an attack made by another
a series of attacks and counterattacks
Iraqi forces are advancing into the city of Fallujah, repelling a counter-attack by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) on Tuesday …—
Jack Moore
Jack Moore
counterattack
verb, transitive + intransitive
or counter-attack
counterattacked or counter-attacked; counterattacking or counter-attacking
Syrian rebels including jihadists counter-attacked the army and its allies on Friday aiming to break a weeks-long siege on eastern Aleppo, insurgents said.
—Ellen Francis and Angus McDowall
Ellen Francis and Angus McDowall
counterattacker
noun
or counter-attacker
plural counterattackers or counter-attackers
Finally, the big man, bleeding profusely, succeeded in throwing his counterattacker off him.
—Andrew M. Greeley
Andrew M. Greeley
Examples of counterattack in a Sentence
suddenly the tide of battle turned, and the rebels, who had been falling back, made a furious counterattack
Recent Examples on the Web
Russian assaults in this area, if successful, could spoil the counterattacks.
—David Axe, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Quinn Hughes turned the puck over at one point, and Seattle was off to the races on a two-on-one counterattack.
—Harman Dayal, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
Sporting seemed to recover as Acosta and Petar Musa went on a counterattack, but the SKC defenders got caught ball-watching and didn’t recognize the late run by Acosta.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2025
The Blues created a couple of decent looks on the counterattack, and Vancouver was sloppy recovering in the defensive end.
—Harman Dayal, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterattack
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David Axe, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Quinn Hughes turned the puck over at one point, and Seattle was off to the races on a two-on-one counterattack.
—Harman Dayal, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
Sporting seemed to recover as Acosta and Petar Musa went on a counterattack, but the SKC defenders got caught ball-watching and didn’t recognize the late run by Acosta.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2025
The Blues created a couple of decent looks on the counterattack, and Vancouver was sloppy recovering in the defensive end.
—Harman Dayal, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterattack
Cite this Entry
“Counterattack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterattack. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
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