dead reckoning

American  

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.

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dead reckoning British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of dead reckoning

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

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.

From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2021

“We learned about dead reckoning, where they sailed by their knowledge of the stars and the currents,” explains Musker.

From Time • Sep. 1, 2016

They were flying on two engines, fighting a headwind, still icing up, with no wireless and only dead reckoning to get them home.

From Washington Post • May 5, 2015

Navigating perilous domestic and foreign waters by dead reckoning, he often felt compelled to be a shameless schemer.

From US News • Apr. 9, 2015

Maddie flew alone, careful and happy, low over the snow-tipped Highlands on those pretty tapered wings, deafened by the Merlin engine, navigating by dead reckoning.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein