ENGLISH
REFERENCE

counterpart

n. countable
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈkaʊntɝˌpɑɹt// UK //kˈaʊntəpˌɑːt// coun·ter·part

n. a person or thing that has the same job or purpose as another in a different place. You use this to compare two people who do the same work in different companies or countries.

n. a person or thing holding a position or performing a function that corresponds to that of another person or thing in another place or situation.


SIMPLE

The CEO met with his French counterpart to discuss the merger.

CONTEXTUAL

The defense attorney argued that the sentence was much harsher than those given to his client's counterparts in similar cases.

COMPLEX

While the domestic legal framework is robust, its international counterpart remains fragmented, leading to significant challenges in cross-border enforcement and jurisdictional clarity.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English conterpart, countre parte (“duplicate of a legal document”), equivalent to counter- + part. Compare Old French contrepartie, itself from contre (“facing, opposite”) (from Latin contra (“against”)) + partie (“copy of a person or thing”) (originally past participle of partīre (“to divide”)).

Usage

Commonly used with a possessive adjective or the preposition 'of' to establish the relationship between the two entities.

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