countermeasure
/ˈkaʊ̯ntəmɛʒə/
"countermeasure" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“countermeasure” is uncommon English (frequency #59,985 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #59,985
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any action taken to counteract or correct another.
Corpus desk
Index EN-countermeasure · countermeasure · English
countermeasure · rank #59,985 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #59,985
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH coulomb
Nearest frequency peer: coulomb (-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 “countermeasure”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- convivial
convivial
40,020 corpus weight
- Coquitlam
Coquitlam
40,019 corpus weight
- corse
corse
40,018 corpus weight
- coulomb
coulomb
40,017 corpus weight
- countermeas…
countermeasure
40,016 corpus weight
- creel
creel
40,013 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “countermeasure” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | countermeasure |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkaʊ̯ntəmɛʒə/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Frequency rank | #59,985 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “countermeasure” in English
Rare enough to double-check
countermeasure is uncommon English at frequency #59,985 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkaʊ̯ntəmɛʒə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
countermeasure has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From counter- + measure. The correct English form is countermeasure, spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-M-E-A-S-U-R-E.
Definition
- 1Any action taken to counteract or correct another.
- 2Any of the devices and techniques used to impair the operational effectiveness of an enemy.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how countermeasure appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
We fear that this will be the beginning of a negative development of measures and countermeasures, at the end of which there will be no winner
Adopting a computerlike countermeasure for a problem enabled by computer algorithms is admittedly an unnatural practice.
Etymology
From counter- + measure.
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 "countermeasure", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).