counterclockwise
9
3.3
- adjective
- /ˌkaʊntərˈklɒkˌwaɪz/
- US
:
en sentido contrario a las agujas del reloj
- To open the lid, turn it counterclockwise until it clicks.
- rotate counterclockwise
- counterclockwise direction
- counterclockwise rotation
There was talk of snails with counterclockwise spiraling shells.
- There was talk of snails with counterclockwise spiraling shells.
- One spins clockwise in terms of its structure, the other spins counterclockwise.
- And his wife and three kids left, and we walked around the property at a complete counterclockwise circle.
Examples
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I want you to turn that knob counterclockwise - to two-niner-zero.
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Turn that screw counterclockwise, very slowly.
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So in a counterclockwise direction, we have to start here and just go this way.
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I turned it counterclockwise, the way it would work to open if the ship were human.
Fiction book (1998) -
And then you just go counterclockwise.
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So I'm going counterclockwise this way around here.
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The tide here runs counterclockwise.
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Looking carefully at this panel, the serpent is turning in a counterclockwise direction.
Academic text (2016) -
The student pairs will form a circle and rotate counterclockwise as they dance.
Academic text (2008) -
Turn the screw counterclockwise.
Synonyms
In the direction opposite to the way a clock's hands move
In the direction opposite the way clock hands move
To move in the opposite direction of a clock's hands
In a way that is the opposite of what was said
Antonyms
Compounds
A movement that turns to the left, the opposite direction of a clock's hands
Surface Forms
Morphology
counterclockwise = clockwise (transparent) = counter + clock + wise
The meaning is a direct modification of 'clockwise' by the productive prefix 'counter-' meaning 'opposite', yielding the expected 'opposite direction to clock hands'.
Etymology
The word counterclockwise breaks into counter- 'against' and clockwise 'the direction of a clock's hands'. So counterclockwise means moving the opposite way to a clock's hands.