reckoning
- 01 C1 Advanced
the act of calculating or estimating a number or amount.
the process of calculating or estimating something, often involving numerical data or navigation.
Simple“By my reckoning, we should arrive at the station in about ten minutes.”
In context“By the navigator's reckoning, the vessel had drifted several miles off course during the overnight storm.”
UsageOften used in the phrase 'by my reckoning' to introduce a personal estimate.
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
a time when you must deal with the results of your past actions, especially bad ones.
the process of dealing with or being punished for past mistakes or misdeeds.
Simple“After years of lying to his family, he finally faced a day of reckoning.”
In context“The company's aggressive expansion led to a painful financial reckoning when the market eventually cooled.”
Teacher's tipCommonly appears in the fixed expression 'day of reckoning' to imply a final moment of truth or judgment.
Synonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
an old word for a bill at a restaurant or hotel.
a statement of money owed for food, drink, or lodging.
Simple“The traveler asked the innkeeper for the reckoning before he left at dawn.”
In context“Having finished their ale, the men called for the reckoning and prepared for the long walk home.”
UsageThis sense is rarely used in modern speech and is primarily found in historical fiction or period literature.
“Spread across six episodes, the series juggles two timelines – 1968 in Saskatchewan; 1985 in Montreal – tracking one family’s rupture; and the decades-long reckoning that follows.”
“Federal efforts to revive uranium mining in the West and decrease reliance on Russian uranium raise concerns about drinking water for tribal communities reckoning with the industry's deadly legacy.”
A gerund formed from reckon with the addition of the suffix -ing; compare Dutch rekening and German Rechnung.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.