countermove
noun
coun·ter·move
ˈkau̇n-tər-ˌmüv 
variants
or counter-move
plural countermoves or counter-moves
: a move designed to check, offset, or counter another move
Chess-playing programs, for instance, were … instructed to look ahead and try to calculate all possible moves and countermoves.—
Tom Alexander
Tom Alexander… had seen … a linebacker drift out and line up nose to nose on a wide receiver. It surprised them, and they had come up with a countermove.—Mark Bowden
Mark Bowden… wanted to play out the long-term implications of possible U.S. moves and Iranian countermoves.—James Fallows
James Fallows"Their kidnapping of Miss Tuppence is the counter-move to your escape."—Agatha Christie
Agatha ChristieExamples of countermove in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There were moves and countermoves galore down the homestretch.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 15 May 2025
Or … was her deadpan reaction planned all along and we’re all caught in yet another one of her media countermoves?
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 7 Jan. 2024
How China Hit Back As with earlier countermoves to U.S. trade penalties, including the 34% on American goods tariff announced Friday, Beijing hit back with targeted action.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Watch The following day, Trump showed his support to Musk by vowing to buy himself a Tesla, a countermove to those who have sought to boycott the electric car company.
—Sam Gillette, People.com, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for countermove
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Dalton Ross, EW.com, 15 May 2025
Or … was her deadpan reaction planned all along and we’re all caught in yet another one of her media countermoves?
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 7 Jan. 2024
How China Hit Back As with earlier countermoves to U.S. trade penalties, including the 34% on American goods tariff announced Friday, Beijing hit back with targeted action.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Watch The following day, Trump showed his support to Musk by vowing to buy himself a Tesla, a countermove to those who have sought to boycott the electric car company.
—Sam Gillette, People.com, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for countermove
Cite this Entry
“Countermove.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countermove. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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