noun
counter
Someone or something that keeps a numerical tally.
A digital counter tracks how many people enter the museum.
Etymology
Latin computare meant to reckon. The ending -er identifies whoever or whatever performs that reckoning, including a person keeping a tally or a device recording successive quantities.
More examples
- Reset the counter to zero before starting another batch.
- The vote counters check every ballot by hand.
- The machine's counter shows how many bottles it has filled.
Forms
counter · counters
count verb — To find the total number of things.
Similar words
- meter
- Measures a specific quantity rather than simply counting items.
- scorekeeper
- Tracks points in a game rather than any quantity.