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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

counterclockwise en · ADJ

Pronunciation

Etymology

From counter- + clock + -wise.

Meanings

  1. (Canada, US, not-comparable) Moving or located in the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
counter-clockwise alternative lexicographic

Deriveds

counterclockwisely · counterclockwiseness

counterclockwise en · ADV

Pronunciation

Etymology

From counter- + clock + -wise.

Meanings

  1. (Canada, US, not-comparable) In the direction of rotation opposite from clockwise.
    • 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:
    • 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:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
counter-clockwise alternative lexicographic

Synonyms

anticlockwise (opposite of clockwise) · withershins (opposite of clockwise) · contraclockwise (opposite of clockwise) · widdershins (opposite of clockwise)