counter-attack
"counter-attack" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“counter-attack” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An attack made in response to an attack by the opponents
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | counter-attack |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “counter-attack” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
counter-attack is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An attack made in response to an attack by the opponents".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for counter-attack, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From counter- + attack. The correct English form is counter-attack, spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R---A-T-T-A-C-K.
Definition
- 1An attack made in response to an attack by the opponents
Etymology
From counter- + attack.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “counter-attack”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-U-N-T-E-R---A-T-T-A-C-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.