check vs counter

check

verb
  • To chide, rebuke, or reprove. 

  • To inspect; to examine. 

  • To leave with a shipping agent for shipping. 

  • To verify the accuracy of a text or translation, usually making some corrections (proofread) or many (copyedit). 

  • To turn, when in pursuit of proper game, and fly after other birds. 

  • To pass or bounce the ball to an opponent from behind the three-point line and have the opponent pass or bounce it back to start play. 

  • To make a move which puts an adversary's king in check; to put in check. 

  • To crack or gape open, as wood in drying; or to crack in small checks, as varnish, paint, etc. 

  • To disrupt another player with the stick or body to obtain possession of the ball or puck. 

  • To announce that one is remaining in a hand without betting. 

  • To verify or compare with a source of information. 

  • To leave in safekeeping. 

  • To control, limit, or halt. 

  • To mark items on a list (with a checkmark or by crossing them out) that have been chosen for keeping or removal or that have been dealt with (for example, completed or verified as correct or satisfactory). 

  • To slack or ease off, as a brace which is too stiffly extended. 

  • To make checks or chinks in; to cause to crack. 

  • To act as a curb or restraint. 

  • To make a stop; to pause; with at. 

  • To mark with a check pattern. 

noun
  • The forsaking by a hawk of its proper game to follow other birds. 

  • A maneuver performed by a player to take another player out of the play. 

  • Any fabric woven with such a pattern. 

  • A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece. 

  • A mark (especially a checkmark: ✓) used as an indicator. 

  • A bill, particularly in a restaurant. 

  • A control; a limit or stop. 

  • An inspection or examination. 

  • A small chink or crack. 

  • A lengthwise separation through the growth rings in wood. 

  • An order to a bank to pay money to a named person or entity. 

  • A mark, certificate, or token by which errors may be prevented, or a thing or person may be identified. 

  • A pattern made up of a grid of squares of alternating colors; a checkered pattern. 

  • A token used instead of cash in gaming machines, or in gambling generally. 

adj
  • Divided into small squares (chequers) by transverse vertical and horizontal lines. 

counter

verb
  • To take action in response to; to respond. 

  • To contradict, oppose. 

  • To return a blow while receiving one, as in boxing. 

adv
  • Contrary, in opposition; in an opposite direction. 

  • In the wrong way; contrary to the right course. 

adj
  • Contrary or opposing 

noun
  • A reckoner; someone who collects data by counting; an enumerator. 

  • The overhanging stern of a vessel above the waterline, below and somewhat forward of the stern proper. 

  • In a bathroom, a surface, often built into the wall and above a cabinet, which holds the washbasin. 

  • The enclosed or partly closed negative space of a glyph. 

  • Any stone lying closer to the center than any of the opponent's stones. 

  • A shop tabletop on which goods are examined, weighed or measured. 

  • The breast of a horse; that part of a horse between the shoulders and under the neck. 

  • The piece of a shoe or a boot around the heel of the foot (above the heel of the shoe/boot). 

  • In a kitchen, a surface, often built into the wall and above a cabinet, designed to be used for food preparation. 

  • An object (now especially a small disc) used in counting or keeping count, or as a marker in games, etc. 

  • A table or board on which money is counted and over which business is transacted 

  • Something opposite or contrary to something else. 

  • The prison attached to a city court; a compter. 

  • A variable, memory location, etc. whose contents are incremented to keep a count. 

  • A class of word used along with numbers to count objects and events, typically mass nouns. Although rare and optional in English (e.g. "20 head of cattle"), they are numerous and required in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. 

  • A telltale; a contrivance attached to an engine, printing press, or other machine, for the purpose of counting the revolutions or the pulsations. 

  • A hit counter. 

  • One who counts. 

  • A proactive defensive hold or move in reaction to a hold or move by one's opponent. 

How often have the words check and counter occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )