Meaning & use
recked
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“recked” is a form of “reck”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitiveliteraryold-fashioned
Paid attention to something, or cared about it; used mostly in older writing and in negative sentences.
Grammar: Takes an object: he recked the warning. In everyday speech it survives mainly in the phrase 'recked nothing of'.
Patterns
- reck something
- reck nothing of something
- not reck of something
The old sailor recked nothing of the storm ahead.
She recked little of what the neighbors might say.
In those days few travelers recked the danger of the mountain road.
verbtransitive or intransitivearchaicliterary
Was important to someone or mattered to them; found in older texts and in the fixed phrase 'it recks me not'.
Grammar: Often used with 'not' and a clause: it recks me not whether he comes. Rare outside literary or deliberately old-fashioned writing.
Patterns
- it recks someone not
- little recks someone
It recked him not whether the plan succeeded or failed.
Little recks the king what the peasants whisper.
Word forms
| base form | reck |
|---|---|
| third person singular | recks |
| present participle | recking |
| past tense | recked |
| past participle | recked |
Common combinations
- reck nothing of something
- He recked nothing of the cost and bought the whole set.
- reck little of something
- They recked little of the rules in those unruly years.
- little recks someone
- Little recks the hermit what the world thinks of him.
- it recks someone not
- It recked her not that the journey would take a week.
- not reck of something
- The poem's hero does not reck of death.
Synonyms and how they differ
- care
- The everyday word for this idea; 'care' works in normal speech, while 'reck' sounds literary or old-fashioned.
- mind
- Common in British English in questions and negatives ('I don't mind'), much more natural than 'reck' today.
- heed
- Means pay attention to advice or warnings, and is still used in formal writing; 'reck' is broader and far rarer.
Opposites
Word family
- reckless adjective
- Acting without thinking about danger or results.
- recklessly adverb
- In a way that shows no care for danger.
- recklessness noun
- The quality of not caring about risk or consequences.
Commonly confused: recked or wrecked? recked or reeked?
recked vs wrecked
Sounds the same but means 'destroyed' or, informally, 'very tired or drunk'. 'Recked' is about caring; 'wrecked' is about damage.
recked vs reeked
Also pronounced the same and means 'smelled strongly and unpleasantly'. Check the spelling carefully: reeked, wrecked, recked.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'recked' correctly in its usual literary sense?
Choose one answer.
'Recked' means cared about or paid attention to, so 'recked nothing of the warnings' fits. Option 0 and 3 describe destruction, which belongs to 'wrecked', and option 2 describes a smell, which belongs to 'reeked'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “recked”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.