dead reckoning

noun

Navigation.

1. calculation of one's position on the basis of distance run on various headings since the last precisely observed position, with as accurate allowance as possible being made for wind, currents, compass errors, etc.

2. one's position as so calculated.

dead reckoning

noun

1. a method of establishing one's position using the distance and direction travelled rather than astronomical observations

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead reckoning¹

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

The approach didn’t work on the first dive and they instead used “dead reckoning,” or calculating their location based on previous position and speed.

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Reading a family novel offers a tried-and-true method of dead reckoning with the family we didn’t choose — a means of measuring our own trajectory beside the quandaries of others navigating family dramas.

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But dead reckoning can never be absolutely precise, and the chances of going off course are considerable.

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Navigating by dead reckoning, a seaman’s instinct, Mr. Webber piloted the boat through darkness and turbulence.

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She can navigate by the stars, and by dead reckoning, but I think she learned to use her sense of direction properly because her granddad gave her a motorbike for her sixteenth birthday.

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