reckon
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to count; make a computation or calculation.
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to settle accounts, as with a person (often followed byup ).
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to count, depend, or rely, as in expectation (often followed byon ).
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Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. to think or suppose.
verb phrase
verb
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to calculate or ascertain by calculating; compute
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(tr) to include; count as part of a set or class
I reckon her with the angels
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(usually passive) to consider or regard
he is reckoned clever
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(when tr, takes a clause as object) to think or suppose; be of the opinion
I reckon you don't know where to go next
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to settle accounts (with)
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(intr; foll by with or without) to take into account or fail to take into account
the bully reckoned without John's big brother
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to rely or depend
I reckon on your support in this crisis
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slang (tr) to regard as good
I don't reckon your chances of success
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informal (tr) to have a high opinion of
she was sensitive to bad reviews, even from people she did not reckon
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of considerable importance or influence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reckonsimple
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reckonssimple
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have reckonedperfect
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has reckonedperfect
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am reckoningprogressive
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are reckoningprogressive
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is reckoningprogressive
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have been reckoningperfect progressive
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has been reckoningperfect progressive
Past
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reckonedsimple
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had reckonedperfect
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was reckoningprogressive
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were reckoningprogressive
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had been reckoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reckon
First recorded before 1000; Middle English rekenen, Old English gerecenian “to report, pay”; cognate with German rechnen “to compute”
Explanation
Reckon means "guess" or "imagine," and is often used by rural types in Hollywood movies who say things like "I reckon I'll be moseyin' on." Reckon also means "suppose" or "think," as in "I reckon he's put his nose where it don't belong one too many times." If reckon sounds odd, that’s because it's mostly gone out of style. When used to talk about prediction, it's a little more common, as in "Who do you reckon is going to win the Super Bowl?" Still, it sounds a little old-fashioned. Many people use the word just for fun. Saying "I reckon" sounds more humorous than "Yes."
Vocabulary lists containing reckon
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This year, the trustees reckon that figure at $243 trillion in today’s money.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 17, 2026
Analysts reckon that even if the strait reopens, normalization will be gradual.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
“Markets may have to reckon or guess the Fed’s policy path to a greater degree than has been the case in many, many years,” Gumbinger says.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
“Football’s all of a sudden starting to reckon with the new climate realities,” said Elliot Arthur-Worsop, founding director of Football For Future, a pioneering U.K. nonprofit and co-publisher of “Pitches in Peril.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
“I reckon you need some hep with yore millinery stuff. Camp, go git some a-them clean pasteboard boxes for our Miss Simpson here.”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
