countersue

C3O1U1N1T1E1R1S1U1E1

verb

To sue a person or entity who is suing one.

OriginEnglish sue ← Middle English counter- ← Anglo-Norman countre- →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

verbcountersue (third-person singular simple present countersues, present participle countersuing, simple past and past participle countersued)

present singular third person countersues · participle present countersuing · participle past countersued · past countersued

  1. intransitivetransitivelawTo sue a person or entity who is suing one.

    Forrest later attacked Willis in New York, knocking him to the ground; lawsuits proliferated as Willis sued Forrest for assault, and Forrest countersued for libel.

    2014, Eric L. Haralson, Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century, page 497

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. Englishsue
  13. Englishcountersue

From counter- + sue.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

counteruse
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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