reckoning

[rek-uh-ning]

noun

1. count; computation; calculation.

2. the settlement of accounts, as between two companies.

3. a statement of an amount due; bill.

4. an accounting, as for things received or done.

   Synonyms: retribution, judgment

5. an appraisal or judgment.

6. Navigation.,  dead reckoning.

7. day of reckoning.

reckoning

/ ˈrɛkənɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of counting or calculating

2. settlement of an account or bill

3. a bill or account

4. retribution for one's actions (esp in the phrase day of reckoning )

5. nautical short for dead reckoning

Other Word Forms

• prereckoning noun
• self-reckoning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of reckoning¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; reckon + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The sudden and unprecedented resignation of its moderator, Rev Trevor Gribben, has left the church grappling with the scale of its own safeguarding failures and facing an uncertain reckoning over what happens next.

Read more on BBC

Cooper thinks the profession is due for a reckoning as concierge practices siphon more doctors and deepen health disparities.

Read more on Barron's

The Heritage Foundation is in the midst of a public and internal reckoning, but it has nothing to do with their association with Project 2025.

Read more on Salon

While some critics see the resignations as a timely reckoning for the once-beloved state institution, others have suggested they are a result of duress from right-wing detractors and the United States.

Read more on Barron's

In Noah Baumbach’s sharply funny, at times melancholy Hollywood satire “Jay Kelly,” George Clooney plays an aging movie star reckoning with what his success has cost him.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• calculation 
• estimation