count against

British  

verb

1. (intr, preposition) to have influence to the disadvantage of

   your bad timekeeping will count against you

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count against Idioms  

1. Be disadvantageous to, as in His earnings this year will count against his Social Security benefits. This idiom uses count in the sense of “make a reckoning,” in this case negative. [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Imports - which count against growth - continued to decline during the period.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2026

Those teams could make it work because they had faced a D-II or D-III team at some point during the season which didn’t count against its games limit.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 21, 2025

Due to the recent ruling in the Diego Pavia case, the season that Woods spent playing junior college does not count against his five years of eligibility.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

One of them, by sub fielder Liam Dawson, is the sort of thing that will count against his chances of going as the second spinner.

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2025

She was pure of heart and deed; she only kicked shins in self- defense, so that couldn't count against her.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin