2 N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to activities that are intended to reverse the effects of a previous revolution as counter-revolution . □ Such actions would be regarded as counter-revolution.
cou nter-revolu tionary (counter-revolutionaries ) in AM, also use counterrevolutionary 1 ADJ Counter-revolutionary activities are activities intended to reverse the effects of a previous revolution. □ …counter-revolutionary propaganda.
2 N‑COUNT A counter-revolutionary is a person who is trying to reverse the effects of a previous revolution.
counter|sign /kaʊ ntə r sa I n/ (countersigns , countersigning , countersigned ) VERB If you countersign a document, you sign it after someone else has signed it. □ [V n] The President refused to countersign the Prime Minister's decree.
counter|ten|or /kaʊ ntə r tenə r / (countertenors ) also counter-tenor N‑COUNT A countertenor is a man who sings with a high voice that is similar to a low female singing voice.
coun|ter|ter|ror|ism /kaʊ ntə r te rər I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Counterterrorism consists of activities that are intended to prevent terrorist acts or to get rid of terrorist groups. ● coun|ter|ter|ror|ist ADJ □ There were gaps in their counterterrorist strategy.
counter|top /kaʊ ntə r tɒp/ (countertops ) N‑COUNT A countertop is a flat surface in a kitchen which is easily cleaned and on which you can prepare food. [AM ] in BRIT, use worktop , work surface
counter|vail|ing /kaʊ ntə r ve I l I ŋ/ ADJ [ADJ n] A countervailing force, power, or opinion is one which is of equal strength to another one but is its opposite or opposes it. [FORMAL ] □ Their strategy is greatest in effect when there is no countervailing power.
counter|weight /kaʊ ntə r we I t/ (counterweights ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] A counterweight is an action or proposal that is intended to balance or counter other actions or proposals. □ [+ to ] His no-inflation bill serves as a useful counterweight to proposals less acceptable to the Committee.
coun|tess /kaʊ nt I s/ (countesses ) also Countess N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE A countess is a woman who has the same rank as a count or earl, or who is married to a count or earl. □ …the Countess of Lichfield.
count|ing /kaʊ nt I ŋ/
1 PREP Not counting a particular thing means not including that thing. Counting a particular thing means including that thing. □ …an average operating profit of 15% to 16% of sales, not counting administrative expenses.
2 PHRASE If you say and counting after a number or an amount of something, you mean that the number or amount is continuing to increase. □ There is a 1,700-year-old tea tree still living in southern China which is more than 100 feet tall and counting.
count|less /kaʊ ntləs/ ADJ [ADJ n] Countless means very many. □ There are countless small ski areas dotted about the province.
cou nt noun (count nouns ) N‑COUNT A count noun is a noun such as 'bird', 'chair', or 'year' which has a singular and a plural form and is always used after a determiner in the singular.
coun|tri|fied /kʌ ntr I fa I d/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use countrified to describe something that seems or looks like something in the country, rather than in a town. □ The house was so handsome, with a lovely countrified garden.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Countrified is used to describe pop music that sounds similar to country music. [JOURNALISM ] □ The sound veers between jazz and countrified blues.
coun|try ◆◆◆ /kʌ ntri/ (countries )
1 N‑COUNT A country is one of the political units which the world is divided into, covering a particular area of land. □ Indonesia is the fifth most populous country in the world. □ …that disputed boundary between the two countries. □ Young people do move around the country quite a bit these days.
2 N‑SING The people who live in a particular country can be referred to as the country . □ Seventy per cent of this country is opposed to blood sports.
3 N‑SING The country consists of places such as farms, open fields, and villages which are away from towns and cities. □ …a healthy life in the country. □ She was cycling along a country road near Compiègne.
4 N‑UNCOUNT A particular kind of country is an area of land which has particular characteristics or is connected with a particular well-known person. □ Varese Ligure is a small town in mountainous country east of Genoa.
5 N‑UNCOUNT [usu N n] Country music is popular music from the southern United States. □ The brilliant young country singer tours her songs about lost love and cigarettes, from March 7.
6 PHRASE If you travel across country , you travel through country areas, avoiding major roads and towns. □ From here we walked across country to Covington.
7 PHRASE If you travel across country , you travel a long distance, from one part of a country to another. □ We've just moved all the way across country to begin a new life.
8 PHRASE If a head of government or a government goes to the country , they hold a general election. [BRIT ] □ The Prime Minister does not have to go to the country for another year. USAGE country
When you use country
to talk about a place far away from the city, the only determiner you can use with it is the
. Don’t say, for example, ‘
adjective + country : home, native; developing, poor, rich; foreign