reckoning

noun

reck·​on·​ing ˈre-kə-niŋ 

ˈrek-niŋ

1

: the act or an instance of reckoning: such as

a

: account, bill

b

: computation

c

: calculation of a ship's position

2

: a settling of accounts

day of reckoning

3

: a summing up

Synonyms

• appraisal
• appraisement
• assessment
• estimate
• estimation
• evaluation
• valuation

Examples of reckoning in a Sentence

I was more than $10 off in my reckoning.

When the day of reckoning comes, we will have to face some unpleasant truths.

Our football team hardly comes into the reckoning.

Because of his injury, he is out of the reckoning.

The team is still in the reckoning.

Recent Examples on the Web

As the Trump administration fights to kill 40 court orders blocking policies nationwide, legal experts say the government’s strategy is to break the cases apart, into individual disputes, to delay an eventual reckoning at the Supreme Court. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 18 May 2025

Call it a long-overdue reckoning, repossession or purification. —Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2025

On the Covers Video His trip, taken in the month before the 2024 election, is a new citizen’s reckoning with this country’s unique ahistoricism. —Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times, 15 May 2025

The Judgement card suggests a reckoning, a powerful wake-up call to rise into your purpose and release guilt, regret, or self-doubt. —Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing reckoning

• by someone's reckoning
• dead reckoning
• hour of reckoning

Rhymes for reckoning

• beckoning

Kids Definition

reckoning

noun

reck·​on·​ing

1

: the act or an instance of calculating

2

: a settling of accounts

day of reckoning