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 album, like the show, is a reckoning with her past.

From BBC

To be sure, India's $283bn IT sector faces a reckoning with its reliance on shuttling skilled workers to the US, which accounts for over half its revenue.

From BBC

It did not matter in the final reckoning.

From BBC

Meanwhile, families of protesters who were killed are reckoning with their deaths.

From BBC

Instead, this conservative, religious city was thrust into a national reckoning of political violence, forced into mourning after a gunman killed Charlie Kirk, an influential right-wing activist, as he was speaking at the local university.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• calculation 
• estimation