as in complaint
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 counterclaim
The building’s owner filed a counterclaim against Fannie Mae, accusing it of breach of contract, and breach of good faith and fair dealing.
—
Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
Fletcher last year filed a counterclaim against Figueroa, accusing her of defamation, and the two claims have since been consolidated into a single proceeding.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2025
In addition to the counterclaim, Robinson’s legal team filed a motion to strike the accusers’ initial lawsuit, finding issue with their decision to remain anonymous.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
In May 2022, Teichert Construction filed a counterclaim alleging the city owed the company more than $2 million.
—Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterclaim
Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
Fletcher last year filed a counterclaim against Figueroa, accusing her of defamation, and the two claims have since been consolidated into a single proceeding.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2025
In addition to the counterclaim, Robinson’s legal team filed a motion to strike the accusers’ initial lawsuit, finding issue with their decision to remain anonymous.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
In May 2022, Teichert Construction filed a counterclaim alleging the city owed the company more than $2 million.
—Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterclaim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterclaim
Noun
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The Biden administration warned that would lead to a huge backlog of complaints and strain the government’s resources, should thousands of borrowers now have to present their cases in court, and would harm borrowers by forcing them to default on their loans in order to possibly get relief.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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Officers responded to a burglary complaint about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, when employees at the city’s Parks and Recreation Department told cops someone was stuck in the chimney of a building in Rockwell Park, Bristol Police Lt. Desmond Wilson said.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
23 June 2025
Noun
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Advocates immediately filed a class-action lawsuit to block Trump's plan, which would end automatic citizenship for babies born in the United States unless their parents were also citizens or legal, permanent residents.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
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Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was added Friday to a lawsuit against his former employer, the University of Michigan, and a former assistant football coach accused of hacking into computer systems to acquire photos of college athletes.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
28 June 2025
Noun
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The worst performer on the index was Danish turbine-maker Vestas Wind, with a loss of about 8%, over changes to wind energy regulation in the U.S. Germany's Bayer was the third biggest loser due to the U.S. Supreme Court delaying a decision on a long-running litigation over its weedkiller.—
Jenni Reid,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
30 June 2025
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The unit’s federal litigation team is at the forefront of immigration fights in federal court, sometimes taking matters to the Supreme Court.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
29 June 2025
Noun
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Heard also won one of the three claims in her countersuit.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
22 June 2025
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She was ordered to pay $10.35 million in damages, and Depp was to pay $2 million, since Heard won one of the three claims in her countersuit.—
Nicholas Rice,
People.com,
22 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterclaim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterclaim. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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