countersue

verb

coun·​ter·​sue ˈkau̇n-tər-ˌsü 

variants or less commonly counter-sue

countersued also counter-sued also countersuing also counter-suing

transitive + intransitive

: to sue (someone) in return : to bring a counterclaim against someone

They were dissuaded from suing one another because they knew their target likely had patents that covered similar territory and they could be countersued quickly—the legal equivalent of mutually assured destruction.

—Steven Levy

Appellant countersued, alleging that respondent's interest charges were usurious and that he had breached his fiduciary duty to her.

—Peterson v. Gustafson, 584 N.W. 2d 660 (1998)

Examples of countersue in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Scorsese’s lawyers countersued, argued that Afram was a newcomer to the industry with unrealistic expectations. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 30 July 2026

Defendants later countersued the Argenta Contemporary Theatre and Christian Gwatney Baker, one of its board members. — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 30 July 2026

Suda filed suit for wrongful dismissal, and the museum countersued her for theft; the conflict is set to be resolved via arbitration, at a judge’s order, later this year. — News Desk, Artforum, 29 July 2026

Baldoni denied Lively’s claims and countersued Lively for defamation (though that case was eventually dismissed). — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for countersue

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou