\Coun"ter brace`\ (br?s`).
1. (Naut.) The brace of the fore-topsail on the leeward side
   of a vessel.
2. (Engin.) A brace, in a framed structure, which resists a
   strain of a character opposite to that which a main brace
   is designed to receive.
Note: In a quadrilateral system of bracing, the main brace is
      usually in the direction of one diagonal, and the
      counter brace in the direction of the other. Strains in
      counter braces are occasioned by the live load only,
      as, in a roof, by the wind, or, in a bridge, by a
      moving train.