Counterclockwise Meaning
/kˌaʊntəˈrklɔkwaɪz/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
advIn the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise.
adjMoving or located in the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise.
Sentence Examples
The car was rotating counterclockwise (when viewed from above) until it faced to the right.
Turn the knob counterclockwise.
How do you tighten this screw? Clockwise or counterclockwise?
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
To unscrew the lid, turn it ____ until it comes loose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car was rotating ____ (when viewed from above) until it faced to the right.
Word Origin & History
From counter- + clock + -wise.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The combination unit was traversing a straight section of roadway, on an approximate 4 percent upgrade, when the tractor began to jackknife. As the power unit rotated clockwise, it left the roadway to the right and traveled several feet before the driver corrected the jackknife. The unit was redirected toward the travel lanes, however, before it re-entered the roadway, it rotated counterclockwise, and the driver lost control."
— 1988 October 12, National Transportation Safety Board, “CASE NO. 9”, in Safety Study: Case Summaries of 189 Heavy Truck Accident Investigations, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2017:
"The obliquities of the equators of (134340) Pluto and (134340) Pluto: I Charon to the orbit of their barycenter around the Sun are large enough that the poles they rotate about in a counterclockwise direction are on the south side of the invariable plane."
— 2011, B. A. Archinal et al., “Erratum to: Reports of the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements: 2006 & 2009”, in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, volume 110, number 4, Springer, →ISSN, page 402:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To unscrew the lid, turn it ____ until it comes loose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car was rotating ____ (when viewed from above) until it faced to the right.