- a long flat surface over which goods are sold or business is done in a shop, bank, etc.
- behind the counter I asked the woman behind the counter if they had any postcards.
Extra ExamplesTopics Shoppingb2- He pushed the money across the counter to me.
- He works at the meat counter.
- I served behind the counter at the cafe for a few hours a week.
- She handed me my coffee over the counter.
- The assistant behind the counter gave a curt nod.
- The bartender wiped down the counter in silence.
- There was a line of people waiting at the checkout counter.
- They sat on high stools at the bar counter.
- all the goods on the counter
- an airline check-in counter
- post office counter staff
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- checkout
- post office
- shop
- …
- serve at
- serve behind
- work at
- …
- top
- staff
- across a/the counter
- at a/the counter
- behind a/the counter
- …
Definitions on the go
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- (also countertop)(both North American English)(British English worktop, work surface)a flat surface in a kitchen for preparing food on
- He put his bags down on the kitchen counter.
- The kitchen had black marble counter tops.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- checkout
- post office
- shop
- …
- serve at
- serve behind
- work at
- …
- top
- staff
- across a/the counter
- at a/the counter
- behind a/the counter
- …
- a small disc used for playing or scoring in some board games see also bargaining counterTopics Games and toysc2
- (especially in compounds) an electronic device for counting something
- The needle on the rev counter soared.
- You need to reset the counter.
- a person who counts something, for example votes in an election
- You can get computers to help the counters to count the votes.
- [usually singular] counter (to somebody/something) (formal) a response to somebody/something that opposes their ideas, position, etc.
- The employers' association was seen as a counter to union power.
Extra Examples- The government's programme should be an effective counter to unemployment.
- an effective counter to the blandness of modern culture
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- effective
- counter to
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 4 Middle English (in sense (3)): from Old French conteor, from medieval Latin computatorium, from Latin computare ‘calculate’, from com- ‘together’ + putare ‘to settle (an account)’. noun sense 5 late Middle English: from Old French contre, from Latin contra ‘against’, or directly from counter-.
Idioms
See counter in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee counter in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishover the counter
- goods, especially medicines, for sale over the counter can be bought without a prescription (= written permission from a doctor to buy a medicine) or special licence
- These tablets are available over the counter.
- This kind of medication cannot be bought over the counter.
under the counter
- goods that are bought or sold under the counter are sold secretly and sometimes illegally
- Pornography may be legally banned but it is still available under the counter.
Check pronunciation:
counter