counterclockwise
adverb, adjective
counterclockwise is spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-C-L-O-C-K-W-I-S-E: 16 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “counter-clockwise vs counterclockwise” about 10 times a month (Google, United States). As an adverb, counterclockwise means “In the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in counterclockwise?
| Letters | 16: C-O-U-N-T-E-R-C-L-O-C-K-W-I-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,947th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is counterclockwise?
Counterclockwise appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce counterclockwise?
- US
Counterclockwise has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-counterclockwise.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with counterclockwise
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: counter-clockwise (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of counterclockwise
- counter-clockwise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does counterclockwise mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
CanadaUSIn the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise.
adjective
- 1
CanadaUSMoving or located in the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate counterclockwise?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of counterclockwise: CCW.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does counterclockwise come from?
From counter- + clock + -wise.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).