dead reckoning en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
Uncertain. Not short for deduced or deductive, but this belief explains the alternative spelling ded reckoning (which actually originated centuries later).
Meanings
-
(countable, qualifier:navigation, uncountable) A method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft by applying estimates of the distance and direction travelled from a previously known position. In respect to ships/boats, it excludes the effect of wind and current on the vessel.
Earlier, airmail pilots relied almost entirely on visual navigation and dead reckoning, a method that sounds simple in theory, but required remarkable concentration and experience. A pilot would plot a route on a map, take a compass heading, estimate his airspeed, and calculate how long it should take to reach the next landmark.
2026 March 7, Sthitapragta Chakraborty, “America Once Built Giant Arrows to Guide Pilots Across the Country, and Some Still Exist Today”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2026:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR | alternative | lexicographic | |
| ded reckoning | alternative | lexicographic | |
| dead reckonings | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (13)
no bestikkregning (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · fr navigation à l'estime (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · sv död räkning (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · ja 推測航法 (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · pt navegação estimada (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · es estima (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · de Koppelnavigation (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · pl nawigacja zliczeniowa (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · de gissen (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · nl gegist bestek (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · hu számítotthelyzet-navigáció (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · el νεκρός απολογισμός (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft) · fi merkintälasku (method of estimating the position of a ship or aircraft)