Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To frustrate or defeat by secret and opposite measures.
  • intransitive verb To make or use a countermine against.
  • intransitive verb To make or lay down countermines.
  • noun A tunnel dug to intercept and destroy an enemy's mine.
  • noun A plot to frustrate or defeat an attack.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To mine counter or in opposition to; resist by means of a countermine, as a besieging enemy or his works.
  • To counterwork; frustrate by secret and opposite measures.
  • To make a countermine; counterplot; work against one secretly.
  • noun Milit., a mine driven from defense-works by the besieged, counter to a mine driven toward the defense-works by besiegers, the object being to meet and destroy the works of the latter party.
  • noun Hence A secret plan designed to frustrate the plans of an opponent; any antagonistic action or plan.
  • noun A mine or torpedo placed and exploded in a harbor entrance by an attacking navy to destroy the mines or torpedoes which guard the entrance.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Mil.) An underground gallery excavated to intercept and destroy the mining of an enemy.
  • noun A stratagem or plot by which another sratagem or project is defeated.
  • intransitive verb To make a countermine or counterplot; to plot secretly.
  • transitive verb (Mil.) To oppose by means of a countermine; to intercept with a countermine.
  • transitive verb To frustrate or counteract by secret measures.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A mine used by defenders to intercept an enemy mine or tunnel.
  • verb To plot opposition; to frustrate the initiatives of another.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb destroy enemy mines with one's own mines
  • noun (military) a tunnel dug to defeat similar activities by the enemy
  • verb destroy property or hinder normal operations

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From counter- +‎ mine.

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Examples

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  • Citation on sharper.

    September 18, 2008