1 B2 informal
To calculate a total by adding up numbers or amounts.
"At the end of the month, the accountant reckoned up all the expenses and submitted the report."
separable
reckon up
B2 informal separable transitive
To calculate or add up a total, or to assess and evaluate the full extent of something.
In plain English
To add up all the numbers to get a total, or to think about all the facts to get a full picture.
What does "reckon up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 idiomatic neutral
To assess or evaluate the full extent or consequences of something.
"Once the storm had passed, the islanders began to reckon up the total damage to their homes."
separable
Usage tip
Can be used both for literal arithmetic (adding up a bill) and for broader evaluation (reckoning up the consequences). More common in British English. Also used in the biblical/moral sense of 'a day of reckoning'.
Words that pair with "reckon up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
cost total bill damages losses score consequences
How to conjugate "reckon up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
reckon up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
reckons up
he/she/it
Past simple
reckoned up
yesterday
Past participle
reckoned up
have + pp
-ing form
reckoning up
continuous
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