counterstroke

[ koun-ter-strohk ]

/ ˈkaʊn tərˌstroʊk /

a stroke or blow given in return.

Medicine/Medical. contrecoup.

Origin of counterstroke

First recorded in 1590–1600; counter- + stroke¹

Yet the settlers felt much safer when they learned that the redoubtable George Rogers Clark intended a counterstroke.

The Border Watch |Joseph A. Altsheler
Stroke and counterstroke and parry of rapiers and lightning-like motion glinted in the air.

Orphans of the Storm |Henry MacMahon
Counterstroke after counterstroke had failed, and Russia was now tottering towards a collapse.

The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind |Herbert George Wells
It was a counterstroke by the worsted belligerent to get better terms of peace.

Some Principles of Maritime Strategy |Julian Stafford Corbett

The counterstroke of the President was one of the most effective passages of his message in its effect upon public opinion.

The Cleveland Era |Henry Jones Ford