Counter may refer to:

Mathematics and computing

Counter machine A counter machine is an abstract machine used in a formal logic and theoretical computer science to model computation. It is the most primitive of the four types of register machines. A counter machine comprises a set of one or more unbounded ''re ...

, a subclass of register machines *

Counter (digital) In digital logic and computing, a counter is a device which stores (and sometimes displays) the number of times a particular event or process has occurred, often in relationship to a clock. The most common type is a sequential digital logic circ ...

, an electronic device, mechanical device, or computer program for counting *

Loop counter In computer science a for-loop or for loop is a control flow statement for specifying iteration. Specifically, a for loop functions by running a section of code repeatedly until a certain condition has been satisfied. For-loops have two part ...

, the variable that controls the iterations of a loop *

Jeton Jetons or jettons are tokens or coin-like medals produced across Europe from the 13th through the 18th centuries. They were produced as counters for use in calculation on a counting board, a lined board similar to an abacus. They also found use ...

, a reckoning counter used on reckoning boards for calculations *

Mechanical counter Mechanical counters are digital counters built using mechanical components. Long before electronics became common, mechanical devices were used to count events. They typically consist of a series of disks mounted on an axle, with the digits zero ...

, a digital counter using mechanical components *

Tally counter A tally counter is a mechanical, electronic, or software device used to incrementally count something, typically fleeting. One of the most common things tally counters are used for is counting people, animals, or things that are coming and going fr ...

, a mechanical counting device *

Web counter A web counter or hit counter is a publicly displayed running tally of the number of visits a webpage has received. Web counters are usually displayed as an inline digital image or in plain text. Image rendering of digits may use a variety of ...

, a counter that counts the number of visits to a web page *

Project COUNTER Project COUNTER or simply COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resource) is an international non-profit membership organization of libraries, publishers, and vendors, who continually develop a standard designed to count the usage o ...

, a standard for reporting usage statistics of electronic resources

Games and sport

Counter (board wargames) A counter is usually a small cardboard square moved around on the map of a board wargame to represent relevant information or determine certain things. The first wargame based on cardboard counters was ''War Tactics or Can Great Britain Be Invad ...

, a playing piece used in board wargames *

Counter run In American football, a counter run is a running play that starts in one direction but ends in the other direction. Typically, the running back will take a step in the opposite direction of the play, only to get the handoff in the other direction. W ...

, an offensive play in American football *

Counter turn A counter turn is a kind of one-foot turn in figure skating. Unlike three turns and brackets, where the entry and exit edges follow the same curve, in a counter the entry and exit are on opposite curves. When executing a counter, the skater tu ...

, an element in figure skating *

Counter (collectible card games) A counter is a gameplay mechanic used in collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with featur ...

, a small item used to represent certain objects or conditions in a collectible card game *

Jones Counter The Jones Counter is a device fitted to the front wheel of a bicycle that counts the revolutions of the wheel. It was invented in 1971 by Alan Jones in order to measure the length of road running race courses. The counter has gears that drive a mec ...

, measures distance bicycles travel

Linguistics and typography

Counter (typography) In typography, a counter is the area of a letter that is entirely or partially enclosed by a letter form or a symbol (the counter-space/the hole of). The stroke that creates such a space is known as a "bowl". Latin letters containing closed count ...

, an enclosed space in a letter-form *

Measure word In linguistics, measure words are words (or morphemes) that are used in combination with a numeral to indicate an amount of something represented by some noun. Description Measure words denote a unit or measurement and are used with mass nouns ...

, a type of word in some languages **

Japanese counter word In Japanese, counter words or counters (, ) are measure words used with numbers to count things, actions, and events. Counters are added directly after numbers. There are numerous counters, and different counters are used depending on the kind or s ...

Other uses

Countertop A countertop, also counter top, counter, benchtop, worktop (British English) or kitchen bench (Australian or New Zealand English), bunker (Scottish English) is a raised, firm, flat, and horizontal surface. They are built for work in kitchens or o ...

, the flat surface of a counter *

Bar (counter) A bar, also known as a saloon, a tavern or tippling house, or sometimes as a pub or club, is a retail business establishment that serves alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, and other beverages such as mineral water and ...

, a type of counter used in bars for food serving *

Compter A compter, sometimes referred to as a counter, was a type of small English prison controlled by a sheriff. The inmates were usually civil prisoners, for example dissenters and debtors. Examples of compters include London's Wood Street Compter, Po ...

or counter, a small jail * Counter, the part of a ship's

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

above the waterline that extends beyond the rudder stock (see

nautical terms This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...

) *

The Counter The Counter is a high-end casual dining restaurant chain in the United States, Mexico, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, and Japan offering custom-topped gourmet burgers with over a million possible burger and burgers-in-a-bowl combinations through ...

, a global hamburger restaurant chain *

Frequency counter A frequency counter is an electronic instrument, or component of one, that is used for measuring frequency. Frequency counters usually measure the number of cycles of oscillation, or pulses per second in a periodic electronic signal. Such an instr ...

, an electronic instrument for measuring frequency

People with the name

Nick Counter James Nicholas Counter III (1940–2009) was a labor attorney and the long-standing president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and chief negotiator for the major studios who squared off against Hollywood's writers dur ...

(1940–2009), American film and television executive * S. Allen Counter (1944–2017), American neuroscientist, polar explorer, and university administrator * See also

Caunter Caunter is a surname originating principally in the West Country in England. The name derives from Anglo-Norman ''caunter/cauntour'', "singer, one who leads the singing", or from Latin ''cantor'', referring to precentors in cathedrals or monasteries ...

, an associated surname