counterstep

C3O1U1N1T1E1R1S1T1E1P3

noun

A measure taken to correct an action or situation; movement in the opposite direction.

OriginEnglish step ← Middle English steppen ← Old English stæppan →
Scrabble 15
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncounterstep (plural countersteps)

plural countersteps

  1. A measure taken to correct an action or situation; movement in the opposite direction.
  2. The movement of dancers around a central point.
verbcounterstep (third-person singular simple present countersteps, present participle counterstepping, simple past and past participle counterstepped)

present singular third person countersteps · participle present counterstepping · participle past counterstepped · past counterstepped

  1. To take an opposing step, as in dancing.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Proto-Italic*komteros
  6. Proto-Italic*komterād
  7. Latincontrā
  8. Old Frenchcontre-
  9. Anglo-Normancountre-
  10. Middle Englishcounter-
  11. Englishcounter-
  12. Proto-Germanic*stapjaną
  13. Proto-West Germanic*stappjan
  14. Old Englishstæppan
  15. Middle Englishsteppen
  16. Englishstep
  17. Englishcounterstep

From counter- + step.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

counterstep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterstep

MLA

“counterstep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterstep. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “counterstep,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterstep.

Source: counterstep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.