countermine

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See also: counter-mine

English

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Etymology

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From counter- +‎ mine.

Noun

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countermine (plural countermines)

  1. A mine used by defenders to intercept an enemy mine or tunnel.
    • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 436:
      Normally the threat would have been dealt with by means of a counter-mine, but the tunnel was now far too close for that.
  2. An underground gallery excavated to intercept and destroy the mining of an enemy.
  3. A stratagem or plot by which another stratagem or project is defeated.

Verb

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countermine (third-person singular simple present countermines, present participle countermining, simple past and past participle countermined)

  1. To plot opposition; to frustrate the initiatives of another.
  2. (transitive, intransitive) to sap hostile mining.
    • 1923, Frank Fox, “The Man-Made Earthquake”, in Charles Francis Horne, The Great Events of the Great War[1], volume 5:
      [] so Fritz could sleep easily in his trench, so far as mines were concerned; and Fritz, confident in his Herr Professors, altogether neglected any attempt to counter-mine.

Synonyms

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