reckon

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled reck’n, reck’ned, and reck’n’d

US /ˈɹɛkən/ See IPA manual

Freq #3175

Meanings

1

verb
To think or believe something (informal).

I reckon he won't try that again.
2

verb
To calculate or count an amount.

They reckoned the total cost at over a million dollars.
3

verb
To deal with or take into account something or someone important.

The new company is a force to reckon with.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with reckon

reckon with Prepositional verb B2

to take account of something important or deal with its effects

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to think or believe... think suppose believe

2 verb · to calculate or count an... calculate compute

3 verb · to deal with or take into... count

Word family

Forms reckonedreckons

Derived forms forereckonmisreckonoutreckonoverreckonreckonablereckoner reckoningreckonmasterunderreckonunreckonedunreckoning

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

reckon with
to take account of something important or deal with its effects

Verb + preposition/particle

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”…

*h₃reǵ- Proto-Indo-European rekenen Middle English recenian Old English *rekanōn Proto-West Germanic *rekan Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Register & Style

External links

# reckon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɹɛkən/
**Frequency rank:** 3175

## Meanings
1. To think or believe something (informal).
2. To calculate or count an amount.
3. To deal with or take into account something or someone important.

## Examples
- I reckon he won't try that again.
- They reckoned the total cost at over a million dollars.
- The new company is a force to reckon with.

## Derived Forms
- forereckon
- misreckon
- outreckon
- overreckon
- reckonable
- reckoner
- reckoning
- reckonmaster
- underreckon
- unreckoned
- unreckoning

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₃reǵ-
- Root: rekenen
- Root: recenian
- Root: *rekanōn
- Root: *rekan

## 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”…

## AI Etymology
Reckon comes 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”). Modern senses include to think or believe something (informal). and to calculate or count an amount.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as forereckon, misreckon, outreckon, overreckon, reckonable, and reckoner.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Register & Style

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