What does "reckon" mean?
An impression or opinion.
Reckon
/ˈɹɛkən/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An impression or opinion.
- Grammar: reckon is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: calculate, compute, consider, estimate.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, disbelieve, doubt.
- Usage evidence: The rescue flight had to reckon with strong winds and freezing temperatures.
How to use "reckon"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "reckon" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "reckon" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "reckon" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "reckon" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "reckon" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "calculate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "reckon", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An impression or opinion. informal
"Shaggy asked him, ' 'Ow dew yew a reckon on your turnips, Fred?'"
- 2 Alternative form of rackan (“chain”). alt-of, alternative, dialectal
Verb
- 1 To count; to enumerate; to number; also, to compute; to calculate.
"then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain"
- 2 expect, believe, or suppose wordnet
- 3 To count as in a number, rank, or series; to estimate by rank or quality; to place by estimation; to account; to esteem; to repute.
"He was reckoned among the transgressors"
- 4 make a mathematical calculation or computation wordnet
- 5 To charge, attribute, or adjudge to one, as having a certain quality or value.
"[…] faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 deem to be wordnet
- 7 To conclude, as by an enumeration and balancing of chances; hence, to think; to suppose; -- followed by an objective clause colloquial
"I reckon he won't try that again."
- 8 judge to be probable wordnet
- 9 To reckon with something or somebody or not, i.e. to reckon without something or somebody: to take into account, deal with, consider or not, i.e. to misjudge, ignore, not take into account, not deal with, not consider or fail to consider; e.g. reckon without one's host
"There are hardships that nobody reckons; There are valleys unpeopled and still; There’s a land—oh, it beckons and beckons, And I want to go back—and I will."
- 10 take account of wordnet
- 11 To make an enumeration or computation; to engage in numbering or computing. intransitive
- 12 have faith or confidence in wordnet
- 13 To come to an accounting; to draw up or settle accounts; to examine and strike the balance of debt and credit; to adjust relations of desert or penalty.
Antonyms
Example
"The rescue flight had to reckon with strong winds and freezing temperatures."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "reckon"?
Common synonyms include: calculate, compute, consider, estimate, figure, think.
How do you use "reckon" in a sentence?
The rescue flight had to reckon with strong winds and freezing temperatures.
How do you pronounce "reckon"?
Pronounced /ˈɹɛkən/.
Etymology
From Middle English rekenen, from Old English recenian (“to pay; arrange, dispose, reckon”) and ġerecenian (“to explain, recount, relate”); both from Proto-West Germanic *rekanōn (“to count, explain”), from Proto-West Germanic *rekan (“swift, ready, prompt”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to make straight or right”). Cognate with Scots rekkin (“to enumerate, mention, narrate, rehearse, count, calculate, compute”), Saterland Frisian reekenje (“to calculate, figure, reckon”), West Frisian rekkenje (“to account, tally, calculate, figure”), Dutch rekenen (“to count, calculate, reckon, charge”), German Low German reken (“to reckon”), German rechnen (“to count, reckon, calculate”), Danish regne (“to calculate”), Swedish räkna (“to count, calculate, reckon”), Icelandic reikna (“to calculate”), Latin rectus (“straight, right”). See also reck, reach.