Meaning & use
counter check
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A second check made to confirm that an earlier result, count or claim was correct.
Grammar: Countable: run a counter check on the figures.
Patterns
- a counter check on something
- do a counter check
The auditor ran a counter check on the totals.
We did a counter check before announcing the results.
A quick counter check showed the report had a mistake.
nouncountableAmericanfinance
A blank check supplied by a bank for a customer to fill in at the teller's counter when they have no checkbook.
Grammar: Banking sense, mostly American; also called a counter check at the bank.
Patterns
- write a counter check
She had left her checkbook at home, so the teller gave her a counter check.
He filled in a counter check to withdraw cash.
Counter checks are rarely used now.
verbtransitive
To check something a second time in order to verify it.
Grammar: Usually written counter-check as a verb: counter-check the sources.
Patterns
- counter-check something against something
She counter-checked the dates against the official records.
Editors counter-check every quote before it is printed.
He counter-checked the numbers to be safe.
Word forms
| plural | counter checks |
|---|---|
| third person singular (verb) | counter-checks |
| past tense (verb) | counter-checked |
| -ing form (verb) | counter-checking |
Common combinations
- run a counter check
- Run a counter check on the invoice before paying.
- counter-check the figures
- Counter-check the figures against the ledger.
- counter check against records
- We did a counter check against last year's records.
- counter check on
- There was a counter check on each witness's story.
- bank counter check
- The bank counter check is for emergencies only.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cross-check
- Cross-check means verifying by comparing with another source, and is the more common word.
- verification
- Verification is a broader formal word for confirming something is true.
- double-check
- Double-check just means to check again, while counter check implies checking by a different method.
- audit
- An audit is a formal and systematic inspection of accounts, wider than a single counter check.
Word family
- check verb
- to examine to make sure something is right
- checklist noun
- a list of things to verify
- counteract verb
- to work against the effect of something
- counterpart noun
- a person or thing that matches another
Commonly confused: counter check or counterfeit?
counter check vs counterfeit
Counterfeit means fake, as in forged money, and is unrelated to verifying.
Practice
The accountant did a ______ on the total to be sure the addition was right.
Choose one answer.
A counter check is a second verification. The other compounds exist but mean a boxing move, a revised proposal and a military response.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “counter check”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.