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

Baldoni, 42, last year countersued, bringing claims against Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, alleging he’d been defamed and extorted and demanding an enormous $400 million in damages. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026

Wilson countersued, claiming Georgia is trying to penalize him for his decision to transfer and alleging that Georgia staffers falsely told multiple unnamed Power 4 programs that information. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026

Busfield denied the allegations and countersued for extortion; the case ended in a settlement, in which he was expected to pay nearly $150,000, People said. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2026

Per the warrant, Busfield denied the allegations and countersued for extortion. —Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 6 Apr. 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