# reckoning

/ˈɹɛkənɪŋ/ (US) · /ɹˈɛkənɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/reckoning
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. calculation

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic

the act of calculating or estimating a number or amount.

For teachers: the process of calculating or estimating something, often involving numerical data or navigation.

- By my reckoning, we should arrive at the station in about ten minutes.
- By the navigator's reckoning, the vessel had drifted several miles off course during the overnight storm.

Usage: Often used in the phrase 'by my reckoning' to introduce a personal estimate.

### 2. facing consequences

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary

a time when you must deal with the results of your past actions, especially bad ones.

For teachers: the process of dealing with or being punished for past mistakes or misdeeds.

- After years of lying to his family, he finally faced a day of reckoning.
- The company's aggressive expansion led to a painful financial reckoning when the market eventually cooled.

Teaching tip: Commonly appears in the fixed expression 'day of reckoning' to imply a final moment of truth or judgment.

### 3. a bill or check

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · British English

an old word for a bill at a restaurant or hotel.

For teachers: a statement of money owed for food, drink, or lodging.

- The traveler asked the innkeeper for the reckoning before he left at dawn.
- Having finished their ale, the men called for the reckoning and prepared for the long walk home.

Usage: This sense is rarely used in modern speech and is primarily found in historical fiction or period literature.

## Examples

- The company faces a day of reckoning.
- After years of environmental damage, the industry now faces a public reckoning and calls for reform.
- The novel portrays the end of the empire as a slow, painful reckoning with its own history of violence and colonial exploitation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.