verb
reckon
REH-kuhn
verb
1
To think or suppose something, often used informally.
"I reckon it'll rain before evening."
"She reckoned the trip would take about three hours."
2
To calculate or work out a number or amount.
"The accountant reckoned the total cost of the project."
3
To reckon with someone or something: to take them seriously into account, especially as a difficulty to be dealt with.
"The new company is a force to be reckoned with."
"He hadn't reckoned with how stubborn his opponent would be."
How to Use Reckon
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo think/suppose something informally, to calculate a number, or (with "with") to take something seriously as a factor.
When to use it
The "I reckon" sense meaning "I think/suppose" is informal and especially common in British, Irish, Australian and Southern US speech.
Common pairings
reckon with
a force to be reckoned with
I reckon that
Word Forms
reckoned past tense, reckons plural, reckons singular
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I _____ it'll rain before evening.
Etymology
From Old English gerecenian, "to explain or recount," going back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to make straight or right" — the same root behind the Latin word for "straight," rectus.