counterclaim
"counterclaim" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“counterclaim” is uncommon English (frequency #73,994 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #73,994
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A suit filed by a defendant against a plaintiff secondary to the original complaint.
Corpus desk
Index EN-counterclaim · counterclaim · English
counterclaim · rank #73,994 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #73,994
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH cott
Nearest frequency peer: cott (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “counterclaim”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- corrin
corrin
26,012 corpus weight
- Cortlandt
Cortlandt
26,011 corpus weight
- cott
cott
26,008 corpus weight
- counterclaim
counterclaim
26,007 corpus weight
- Courteney
Courteney
26,005 corpus weight
- cowered
cowered
26,003 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “counterclaim” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | counterclaim |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #73,994 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “counterclaim” in English
Rare enough to double-check
counterclaim is uncommon English at frequency #73,994 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for counterclaim, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, 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- + claim. The correct English form is counterclaim, spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-C-L-A-I-M.
Definition
- 1A suit filed by a defendant against a plaintiff secondary to the original complaint.
- 2A claim (assertion) that counters (disputes) another.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how counterclaim appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Develop claims and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claims and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
Etymology
From counter- + claim.
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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "counterclaim", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).