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counterpart

counterpart

169 5.0
A person in another place who has the same job or role
  • noun
  • /ˈkaʊntərˌpɑrt/
translation icon : homólogo
  • Israeli social workers could show their UK counterparts a thing or two about radical industrial relations.
  • an American counterpart
  • a Spanish counterpart
  • a Western counterpart

I was, you know, and my male counterparts had guns pulled on them.

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Examples

  • Our findings also indicated that female students are more engaged than their male counterparts.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Other Greek gods became the basis for their Roman counterparts as well.

  • And we discovered their human counterparts are amazing.

  • The planets are on her side and she has a very powerful female counterpart.

  • What we want to know is this, where are their male counterparts?

  • Further, public school males are as active as their private school counterparts during free time.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Prudence is the human counterpart of Providence.

  • "Dmitriy, your help was extraordinary," Talbot told his Russian counterpart at the other end of the table.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Palestinian security officers, who until then had worked closely with their Israeli counterparts, turned their weapons on the Israelis.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Public school students are often compared to their private school counterparts in terms of academic performance.

Synonyms

equivalent
vscounterpart
226 3.9

A thing with the same value, role or meaning as another

focuses specifically on matching role or function rather than value or amount
parallel
vscounterpart
63 4.4

A similarity between two things or events

points to the same function or role rather than only a general likeness
analog
vscounterpart
  • US
42 6.0

A person or thing similar to another in what it does

denotes the same function or characteristics rather than loose comparability
opposite number
vscounterpart
1 4.9

A person who has the same job in another company or country

applies more broadly to any thing with the same role, not only jobs
vis-à-vis
vscounterpart
7.9

A person or thing that has the same role as another

is the common plain English term for that same role or function
homolog
vscounterpart
8.4

A person or organization in one place that has the same job in another place

is the general everyday term for the same position or function

How Similar

duplicate
55 3.2
equivalent
226 3.9
analog
  • US
42 6.0
counterpart
169 5.0
parallel
63 4.4

Surface Forms

counterpart singular
counterparts plural

Morphology

counterpart = counter + part (transparent) = counter + part

The meaning 'a corresponding or matching part/person' follows directly from the compound 'counter' + 'part' and is predictable for learners who know the components.

Etymology

Counterpart comes from two simple parts: counter meaning 'opposite' or 'on the other side' and part meaning 'role' or 'piece'. So a counterpart is someone who has the same role or function in a different place, the 'same part' on the other side.