as in lawsuits
a court case brought against the plaintiff of another court case by the defendant
The defendant filed a counterclaim for his own injuries, claiming that he only rear-ended the plaintiff because she had stopped too fast.
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Recent Examples of counterclaims
Steven Cooper, the lead lawyer for PleasrDAO, blasted Shkreli’s counterclaims.
—
Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 3 Feb. 2026
The claims and counterclaims filed in Texas courts since early December read like alternate histories.
—Paul Flahive, Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
The management firm later filed counterclaims against CAA over its use of noncompetes.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
Claims and counterclaims and various legal motions piled up on both coasts, but the core dispute remained, more or less, constant.
—Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
The court dismissed those counterclaims.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 6 Nov. 2025
The team's counterclaims include defamation, civil conspiracy, tortious interference and breach of contract.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
The Jane the Virgin alum’s counterclaims against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which involved allegations of extortion and defamation, were dismissed by Judge Liman in June.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Earlier this month, a judge allowed OpenAI to move forward with counterclaims against Musk.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2025
Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 3 Feb. 2026
The claims and counterclaims filed in Texas courts since early December read like alternate histories.
—Paul Flahive, Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
The management firm later filed counterclaims against CAA over its use of noncompetes.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
Claims and counterclaims and various legal motions piled up on both coasts, but the core dispute remained, more or less, constant.
—Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
The court dismissed those counterclaims.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 6 Nov. 2025
The team's counterclaims include defamation, civil conspiracy, tortious interference and breach of contract.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
The Jane the Virgin alum’s counterclaims against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which involved allegations of extortion and defamation, were dismissed by Judge Liman in June.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Earlier this month, a judge allowed OpenAI to move forward with counterclaims against Musk.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterclaims
Noun
-
And there is another memo that just surfaced, written in the weeks after 9/11 and addressed to then-Deputy Mayor Bob Harding, saying that there could be a great many lawsuits.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 Feb. 2026
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Meatpackers have long been a focus of criticism for being too concentrated and have paid hundreds of millions to settle price fixing and antitrust lawsuits.—
Enda Curran,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Under the new ordinance, the city would not be able to investigate claims of discrimination at all, instead referring residents who make complaints to other resources, or to applicable state and federal agencies.—
Emily Holshouser,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Feb. 2026
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Jorge Arreaza, a lawmaker and former minister of foreign affairs, went outside and allowed some families of political prisoners inside to hear their complaints.—
Carmen Sesin,
NBC news,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Counterclaims.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterclaims. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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