Meaning & use
reckoning
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Meanings
nounusually singular
A moment when people must face the results of what they have done, or be judged for it.
Grammar: Usually singular; common in a day of reckoning and a reckoning with the past.
Patterns
- a day of reckoning
- a reckoning with something
- come to a reckoning
The scandal forced a painful public reckoning for the company.
There will be a reckoning for these decisions sooner or later.
noununcountable
The act of calculating or estimating something.
Grammar: Uncountable; most often heard in the phrase by my reckoning.
Patterns
- by my reckoning
By my reckoning, we've saved enough for the trip.
There was something wrong with his reckoning of the total cost.
noununcountablearchaicold-fashioned
The settling of a bill or account; payment that is due.
Grammar: Archaic; found in older stories and historical writing.
Patterns
- settle the reckoning
At the inn he settled his reckoning before riding on.
The tavern keeper presented the reckoning at midnight.
Word forms
| plural | reckonings |
|---|
Common combinations
- a day of reckoning
- There will be a day of reckoning for these broken promises.
- by my reckoning
- By my reckoning, the walk to the lake takes about an hour.
- a painful reckoning
- The report forced a painful reckoning with the facts.
- a final reckoning
- History will deliver a final reckoning on their leadership.
- settle a reckoning
- He settled his reckoning with the innkeeper and left before dawn.
Synonyms and how they differ
- judgment
- Emphasizes being evaluated or punished; reckoning adds the idea of consequences finally arriving.
- accounting
- Often figurative, as in a moral accounting; it stresses balancing what was done against what is owed.
- calculation
- Neutral word for working with numbers; it fits only the estimating sense of reckoning.
Word family
- reckon verb
- To calculate or estimate, or to think and expect, as in I reckon we'll win.
Commonly confused: reckoning or reasoning?
reckoning vs reasoning
Reasoning is logical thinking used to reach a conclusion; reckoning is calculating numbers or facing the consequences of actions.
Practice
___ my reckoning, we've been on the road for almost four hours.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is by my reckoning, meaning according to my calculation. The other prepositions cannot introduce this phrase, even though in and on are common in time expressions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reckoning”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.