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
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
Whether OpenAI will prevail on its counterclaims is anybody's guess.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2025
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
Whether OpenAI will prevail on its counterclaims is anybody's guess.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterclaims
Noun
-
Walsh thinks that if HJR 4209 were to pass, costly lawsuits would follow the loss of Republican districts.—
Center Square,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Jan. 2026
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The township is arguing that state law regarding government employee protections against lawsuits conflicts with federal court rulings.—
Laura A. Bischoff,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Cumming said the city's information technology department also abruptly cut off part of her office administrator's access, including the ability to see who else in city government may be looking at whistleblower complaints and documents related to ethics investigations.—
Mike Hellgren,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
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For hours, in the suffocating heat, Dooley sifted through endless accounts of mundane colonial matters—church records, itemizations, legal disputes, petty complaints.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Counterclaims.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterclaims. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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