counterterrorism
noun
coun·ter·ter·ror·ism
ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈter-ər-ˌi-zəm 
variants
or counter-terrorism
: measures designed to combat or prevent terrorism
an expert in counterterrorism
—often used before another nouna local counterterrorism council
new counter-terrorism policies/measures
Examples of counterterrorism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Our joint counterterrorism operations have degraded ISIS and al-Shabaab across East Africa.
—
Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 23 May 2024
Israeli officials have said that the soldiers were carrying out counterterrorism operations.
—Michael Levenson, New York Times, 22 May 2024
The Biden administration’s decision last week to take Cuba off the list of countries not fully cooperating with U.S. counterterrorism efforts has only added fuel to Scott’s arguments.
—Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 21 May 2024
Javed Ali, the former senior counterterrorism director on the National Security Council, said members of the LGBTQ+ community have long been the target of terrorist groups.
—Luke Barr, ABC News, 13 May 2024
Some background: Long before he was attacked for either gratuitously smearing President Biden or going too easy on the old fella, Hur was a respected federal prosecutor — a graduate of Harvard and Stanford who had worked in the Department of Justice overseeing counterterrorism and corporate fraud.
—Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 14 Mar. 2024
Troops in Chad: The Pentagon will withdraw dozens of Special Operations forces from Chad, the second major blow to U.S. security and counterterrorism policy in a volatile swath of West and Central Africa.
—Dave Philipps, New York Times, 2 May 2024
Still, the development -- first reported by Reuters -- speaks to U.S. concerns that Russia is aggressively trying to gain a foothold in West Africa, specifically Niger, where U.S. troops have been asked to leave after building a remote $150 million counterterrorism drone base in Agadez.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 2 May 2024
Specifically, Niger’s location gives the U.S. ability to engage in counterterrorism throughout much of West Africa.
—Carla Martinez MacHain, The Conversation, 16 Apr. 2024
Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 23 May 2024
Israeli officials have said that the soldiers were carrying out counterterrorism operations.
—Michael Levenson, New York Times, 22 May 2024
The Biden administration’s decision last week to take Cuba off the list of countries not fully cooperating with U.S. counterterrorism efforts has only added fuel to Scott’s arguments.
—Max Greenwood, Miami Herald, 21 May 2024
Javed Ali, the former senior counterterrorism director on the National Security Council, said members of the LGBTQ+ community have long been the target of terrorist groups.
—Luke Barr, ABC News, 13 May 2024
Some background: Long before he was attacked for either gratuitously smearing President Biden or going too easy on the old fella, Hur was a respected federal prosecutor — a graduate of Harvard and Stanford who had worked in the Department of Justice overseeing counterterrorism and corporate fraud.
—Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 14 Mar. 2024
Troops in Chad: The Pentagon will withdraw dozens of Special Operations forces from Chad, the second major blow to U.S. security and counterterrorism policy in a volatile swath of West and Central Africa.
—Dave Philipps, New York Times, 2 May 2024
Still, the development -- first reported by Reuters -- speaks to U.S. concerns that Russia is aggressively trying to gain a foothold in West Africa, specifically Niger, where U.S. troops have been asked to leave after building a remote $150 million counterterrorism drone base in Agadez.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 2 May 2024
Specifically, Niger’s location gives the U.S. ability to engage in counterterrorism throughout much of West Africa.
—Carla Martinez MacHain, The Conversation, 16 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'counterterrorism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near counterterrorism
Cite this Entry
“Counterterrorism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterterrorism. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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