say it: KOWN-tur-uh-tak
counterattack is a noun and verb meaning "an attack by a defending force against an attacking enemy force in order to regain lost ground or cut off enemy advance units etc.". It carries 3 recorded senses.
an attack by a defending force against an attacking enemy force in order to regain lost ground or cut off enemy advance units etc.
(chess) an attack that is intended to counter the opponent's advantage in another part of the board
chess
make a counterattack
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for counterattack come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.