| 释义 |
ˈcounter-offensive, n. (and a.) Mil.
[counter- 3 a.]
An offensive (instead of a defensive) action undertaken in response to a prior attack. Also fig. and attrib. (or as adj.).
1909Daily Chron. 25 Feb. 5/7 In political as in military warfare the attitude of passive defence is of small avail. The true defence is the counter-offensive. 1918E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 146 Counter offensive, the same as counter attack only stronger, more general. 1939Daily Tel. 18 Dec. 6/2 No counter-offensive on this front is practicable. 1952Sun (Baltimore) 28 Aug. 1/3 It took in also the strategic air bases, which are counteroffensive rather than defensive in purpose. 1956R. Macaulay Towers of Trebizond xiv. 150 Next morning while I was having breakfast, the Imam came in to the restaurant, the one who had followed us about on Corpus Christi when we had the procession and service in the square, and had started a counter-offensive. 1985Financial Times 9 Dec. 4/5 The start of the inquiry has been accompanied by a counter-offensive by Militant, involving holding 100 public meetings throughout Britain. 1986Christian Science Monitor 11 Feb. 9/1 Mr. Muhammad is gathering, probably with Saudi help, some 40,000 tribal forces in North Yemen for a counter-offensive. |