countersuit

noun

coun·​ter·​suit ˈkau̇n-tər-ˌsüt 

variants or less commonly counter-suit

plural countersuits also counter-suits

: an opposing lawsuit

especially : a claim asserted by an opposing party in a lawsuit (such as a defendant) against the party bringing the original lawsuit (such as a plaintiff) : counterclaim

decided to file a countersuit against her accuser

The current appeal results from a patent infringement suit and countersuit between Apple Inc. ("Apple") and Samsung Electronics Co …

—Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 816 F. 3d 788 (2016)

Examples of countersuit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Baldoni denied all of Lively’s allegations in a $400 million defamation countersuit that has since been tossed. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025

The lawyer has said the allegations will be contested while in the meantime the companies challenged have brought their own countersuits. —Alex J. Rouhandeh naveed Jamali, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025

With Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit tossed out in June and Deadpool star Reynolds, the New York Times and others dropped from the matter altogether, Lively’s trial against Baldoni is set to start on March 9, 2026. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025

This sparked a $400 million countersuit from the director, who claimed that Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, orchestrated a campaign to smear him. —Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for countersuit

• absolute
• arrowroot
• attribute
• bitterroot
• constitute
• convolute
• destitute
• disrepute
• dissolute
• execute
• institute
• involute