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

A final reckoning with the Dervishes came 16 years later, at the climactic Battle of Omdurman.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His death, and the conspiracies that swirled around it, would trigger a reckoning that has caused ripple effects in Washington and Wall Street, and has taken down some of his former friends.

Read more on BBC

There will be total fury at the top of government right now and, presumably, a reckoning of some sort for the OBR.

Read more on BBC

A similar—if not worse—reckoning could easily be in store for companies that are splashing out on AI, should demand fail to materialize in the way they envision.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But it’s no hagiography; it has the ring of honest reckoning.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• calculation 
• estimation