reckoning

[rek-uh-ning]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR reckoning ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

count; computation; calculation.

the settlement of accounts, as between two companies.

a statement of an amount due; bill.

an accounting, as for things received or done.

an appraisal or judgment.

Navigation. dead reckoning.

day of reckoning.

Origin of reckoning

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at reckon, -ing¹

Related formspre·reck·on·ing, nounself-reck·on·ing, adjective, noun

Synonyms for reckoning

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR reckoning ON THESAURUS.COM

4. judgment, retribution.

reckon

[rek-uhn]

verb (used with object)

to count, compute, or calculate, as in number or amount.

to esteem or consider; regard as: to be reckoned an authority in the field.

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. to think or suppose.

verb (used without object)

to count; make a computation or calculation.

to settle accounts, as with a person (often followed by up).

to count, depend, or rely, as in expectation (often followed by on).

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. to think or suppose.

Verb Phrases

reckon with,

to include in consideration or planning; anticipate: He hadn't reckoned with so many obstacles.
to deal with: I have to reckon with many problems every day.

Origin of reckon

before 1000; Middle English rekenen, Old English gerecenian (attested once) to report, pay; cognate with German rechnen to compute

Related formsreck·on·a·ble, adjectiveout·reck·on, verb (used with object)pre·reck·on, verb (used with object)un·der·reck·on, verb (used with object)un·reck·on, verb (used with object)un·reck·on·a·ble, adjectiveun·reck·oned, adjective

Synonyms for reckon

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR reckon ON THESAURUS.COM

1. enumerate. 2. account, deem, estimate, judge.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for reckoning

calculation, estimation, invoice, cost, tab, summation, settlement, check, debt, working, addition, due, charge, score, statement, arithmetic, IOU, fee, estimate, grunt

Examples from the Web for reckoning

Contemporary Examples of reckoning

The day of reckoning has arrived not just in Ferguson, Missouri, but also across America.
Justice Was Served in Ferguson—This Isn’t Jim Crow America
Ron Christie
November 25, 2014
What should have been a moment of reckoning for a selfish, serial liar instead ended with us pitying him.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Self Help’: A Grim Show Displays Its Comedy Streak, and A Major Reveal
Melissa Leon
November 10, 2014
Regardless of how talented or athletic or smart the people are, death seems to be the reckoning that will eventually come.
The High-Flying Secrets of BASE Jumpers
William O’Connor
August 4, 2014
Oh, and no truth to the rumor that director Michael Bay has since optioned a script titled Hotelicopter: The Reckoning.
5 Epic April Fool’s Day Pranks
Bill Schulz
April 1, 2014
But the cold hard numbers that Korb advances foreshadow a day of reckoning, just not yet.
The H.M.O. That Kills Terrorists
Eleanor Clift
February 27, 2014

Historical Examples of reckoning

He was sure she would be exactly suited to the part in "The Reckoning."
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Where this was, is more than I know; for I was not in a state to keep a ship's reckoning.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
Yes, Mr. Clawbonny, he is reckoning on a good feed of human flesh!
The Field of Ice
Jules Verne
He told me once there should be a day of reckoning between us, sooner or later.
The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Charles Dickens
Sin' thou knowest me, thou knowest also that he who feasteth with me must pay his reckoning.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle

British Dictionary definitions for reckoning

reckoning

noun

the act of counting or calculating

settlement of an account or bill

a bill or account

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

nautical short for dead reckoning

reckon

verb

to calculate or ascertain by calculating; compute

(tr) to include; count as part of a set or classI reckon her with the angels

(usually passive) to consider or regardhe is reckoned clever

(when tr, takes a clause as object) to think or suppose; be of the opinionI reckon you don't know where to go next

(intr foll by with) to settle accounts (with)

(intr ; foll by with or without) to take into account or fail to take into accountthe bully reckoned without John's big brother

(intr ; foll by on or upon) to rely or dependI reckon on your support in this crisis

(tr) slang to regard as goodI don't reckon your chances of success

(tr) informal to have a high opinion ofshe was sensitive to bad reviews, even from people she did not reckon

to be reckoned with of considerable importance or influence

Word Origin for reckon

Old English (ge) recenian recount; related to Old Frisian rekenia, Old High German rehhanón to count

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for reckoning

early 14c., "narrative, account," verbal noun from reckon (v.). Meaning "a settling of accounts" is from mid-14c.; that of "calculation" is from late 14c. Cf. Dutch rekening "a bill, account, reckoning," Old High German rechenunga, German rechnung, Danish regning "a reckoning, computation." Day of reckoning attested from c.1600.

reckon

c.1200, recenen, from Old English gerecenian "to explain, relate, recount," from West Germanic *(ga)rekenojanan (cf. Old Frisian rekenia, Middle Dutch and Dutch rekenen, Old High German rehhanon, German rechnen, Gothic rahnjan "to count, reckon"), from Proto-Germanic *rakinaz "ready, straightforward," from PIE *reg- "to move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "direct in a straight line, rule" (see regal).

Intransitive sense "make a computation" is from c.1300. In I reckon, the sense is "hold an impression or opinion," and the expression, used parenthetically, dates from c.1600 and formerly was in literary use (Richardson, etc.), but came to be associated with U.S. Southern dialect and was regarded as provincial or vulgar. Related: Reckoned; reckoning.

Idioms and Phrases with reckoning

reckon

In addition to the idiom beginning with reckon

reckon with

also see:

force to be reckoned with