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English (US)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of counterfeit in English

counterfeit
adjective
us
/ˈkaʊn.t̬ɚ.fɪt/ uk
/ˈkaʊn.tə.fɪt/
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made to look like the original of something, usually for dishonest or illegal purposes:
counterfeit jewelry/passports/coins
Synonym
fake
Opposites
genuine
real
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Forgery

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Related word

counterfeiter
counterfeit
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈkaʊn.t̬ɚ.fɪt/ uk
/ˈkaʊn.tə.fɪt/
something that is made to look like the original of something else, usually for dishonest or illegal purposes:
This watch may be a counterfeit, but it looks just like the original.
Inspect the tickets carefully for possible counterfeits.
Synonyms
fake (PERSON OR OBJECT)
forgery
Opposite
original
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Forgery

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
counterfeit
verb [ T ]
us
/ˈkaʊn.t̬ɚ.fɪt/ uk
/ˈkaʊn.tə.fɪt/
to make something look like the original of something else, usually for dishonest or illegal purposes:
Two women and a man have been convicted of counterfeiting $100 bills.
We have made it significantly more difficult for them to counterfeit this document.
Synonym
forge (COPY)
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Forgery

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
(Definition of counterfeit from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

counterfeit | Intermediate English

counterfeit
adjective [ not gradable ]
us
/ˈkɑʊn·tərˌfɪt/
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copied exactly in order to make someone believe that the copy is the original:
A lot of brand-name merchandise sold on the streets is counterfeit.

counterfeit

noun [ C ] us
/ˈkɑʊn·tərˌfɪt/
The bank said this $100 bill was a counterfeit.

counterfeit

verb [ T ] us
/ˈkɑʊn·tərˌfɪt/
They were accused of counterfeiting credit cards and selling them.
(Definition of counterfeit from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

counterfeit | Business English

counterfeit
adjective
uk
/ˈkaʊntəfɪt/ us
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counterfeit money, goods, etc. are illegal copies of the real thing, made to deceive people:
counterfeit bills/notes/software
Counterfeit card fraud is a growing problem.
At least 41% of the drugs in circulation were thought to be counterfeit.
counterfeit
verb [ T ]
uk
/ˈkaʊntəfɪt/ us
to make illegal copies of something such as bank notes, DVDs, or official documents:
Criminals can empty bank accounts by accessing consumer PIN numbers and counterfeiting cards.
counterfeit
noun [ C ]
uk
/ˈkaʊntəfɪt/ us
an illegal copy of something such as a bank note, DVD, or official document:
Many of the watches sold on the market are counterfeits.
(Definition of counterfeit from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of counterfeit

counterfeit
They learn to differentiate real from counterfeit bills.
From Chicago Tribune
He stressed that counterfeiting and piracy are serious problems that hurt major industries, including the movie industry, which supports 2.2 million jobs alone.
From CBS News
This is a revolution -- led by counterfeit manufacturing.
From TIME
Our experience suggests that as markets move to chip, they become less vulnerable to counterfeit fraud and, ultimately, to mass data compromise attacks.
From International Business Times
In some cases, the schemers recruited homeless people to cash the counterfeit checks at local stores.
From MLive.com
While software can be patched, counterfeit components must be removed one machine at a time.
From Ars Technica
So he showed her a counterfeit $100 bill that he had made.
From Wired
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of counterfeit?
 

Translations of counterfeit

in Chinese (Traditional)
僞造的, 仿造的, 假冒的…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
伪造的, 仿造的, 假冒的…
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in Spanish
falso, falsificación, falsificar…
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in Portuguese
falsificado, falso, falsificação…
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in more languages
in Turkish
in French
in Dutch
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Ukrainian
in Russian
sahte, kalp, taklit…
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faux, contrefaire, feindre…
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vervalst, vals, vervalsen…
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padělaný, falešný, padělat…
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falsk, forfalsket, uægte…
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palsu, memalsu, berpura-pura…
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ปลอม, ไม่ใช่ของจริง, ปลอมแปลง…
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giả mạo, giả, giả vờ…
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fałszywy, podrobiony, podrabiać…
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förfalskad, efterapad, falsk…
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salinan, palsu, memalsukan…
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gefälscht, fälschen, heucheln…
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falsk, uekte, forfalske…
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підроблений, фальшивий, імітувати…
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поддельный, фальшивый…
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