Meaning & use
counter offer
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A reply to an offer that suggests different terms instead of accepting or refusing it.
Grammar: Countable: you can make one counter offer or several counter offers.
Patterns
- make a counter offer
- accept a counter offer
- a counter offer to something
The company offered her $50,000, but she made a counter offer of $60,000.
After receiving a counter offer, the buyer decided to walk away from the deal.
He accepted their counter offer because it was close to what he had asked for.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To suggest different terms in reply to an offer, rather than accept or reject it.
Grammar: Can take an object ('counter an offer') or stand alone ('they countered with a lower price').
Patterns
- counter an offer
- counter with something
- counter by doing something
The seller countered our first price with a slightly lower figure.
If they say no, we can counter by offering a longer contract.
Word forms
| plural | counter offers |
|---|---|
| third person singular | counter offers |
| past tense | counter offered |
| past participle | counter offered |
| -ing form | counter offering |
Common combinations
- make a counter offer
- The union made a counter offer after the first proposal was rejected.
- accept a counter offer
- She decided to accept the counter offer and stay at her job.
- reject a counter offer
- The landlord rejected our counter offer on the rent.
- a final counter offer
- This is our final counter offer; we cannot go any lower.
Synonyms and how they differ
- counterbid
- Used mainly in auctions and takeovers when a rival raises the price; a counter offer is broader and can involve any term, not just money.
- counterproposal
- Very close in meaning but more formal, common in diplomacy and contracts.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: counter offer or counterfeit?
counter offer vs counterfeit
A counterfeit item is a fake copy, such as fake money; a counter offer is a reply to a business proposal, so the two words are unrelated in meaning.
Practice
The seller wanted $300,000, so we ______ $280,000.
Choose one answer.
The verb 'counter' is followed by 'with' to introduce the new figure: 'countered with $280,000'. The other prepositions do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “counter offer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.