Counter clockwise or counterclockwise?
counter clockwise is an adjective meaning “Counterclockwise; anticlockwise”; counterclockwise is an adverb meaning “In the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise”. Use counter clockwise as an adjective and counterclockwise as an adverb (counterclockwise is also an adjective: “Moving or located in the direction of rotation opposite…”). counter clockwise is written as two words and counterclockwise as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between counter clockwise and counterclockwise?
| counter clockwise | counterclockwise | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, adverb | adverb, adjective |
| Meaning | USCounterclockwise; anticlockwise | CanadaUSIn the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise CanadaUSMoving or located in the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise |
| Example | none recorded | none recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | not recorded |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | about once in every 2 million words |
Sources: counter clockwise and counterclockwise in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of counter clockwise and counterclockwise
counter clockwise
- 1
USCounterclockwise; anticlockwise
- 2
USCounterclockwise; anticlockwise
- 3
Alternative form of counterclockwise
- 4
Alternative form of counter-clockwise
counterclockwise
- 1
CanadaUSIn the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise
- 2
CanadaUSMoving or located in the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, counter clockwise or counterclockwise?
counter clockwise is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; counterclockwise about once in every 2 million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search counter clockwise vs counterclockwise?
“counter clockwise vs counterclockwise” is searched about 10 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“counterclockwise vs counter clockwise”, “counter clockwise or counterclockwise”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.