ledger

noun

led·​ger ˈle-jər 

plural ledgers

1

a

: a book containing accounts to which debits and credits are posted from books of original entry

Psmith, perched gracefully on a stool, entered figures in a ledger.

—P. G. Wodehouse

b

: a digital record that is used similarly to an accounting ledger (as for maintaining a list of transactions)

Williams said he also recovered a ledger spreadsheet on a laptop computer seized from Wright and a "key" to translate the ledger.

—Scott Dolan

specifically : blockchain

NFTs use blockchain, the technology ledger backing cryptocurrencies …, which are databases of linked information to record ownership or transactions of a product.

—Weston Blasi

The original idea behind Provenance was to provide transparency, proof of loan performance, provenance—reliable information about who owned or owns an asset at any given time—lower costs and easier audits for loan buyers and sellers through distributed ledger technology.

—Penny Crosman

2

: a horizontal board used for vertical support (as in scaffolding)

I'd rather see joists resting on a ledger, spiked to the girders or to the house through spacers.

—Jim Locke

Examples of ledger in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On the opposite end of the ledger are things like the slowwwwww infotainment system and the amount of time (easily over two months in the first four years of ownership) that the car has spent at the dealership instead of in my garage. —Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 14 Feb. 2025

Hoberg and the friend also deleted their Telegram messages that detailed bets and the ledger, investigators found. —Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2025

The investors The sales of the tokens are recorded anonymously on the blockchain, the public ledger that underpins crypto transactions. —Michelle Conlin and Tom Wilson, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2025

Though his team didn’t come out on the right side of the ledger this time, North coach Paul Rosa of Wilcox felt a similar sentiment. —Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 2 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English lygger, leger large breviary, beam, probably from leyen, leggen to lay

First Known Use

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing ledger

• ledger line

Kids Definition

ledger

noun

led·​ger ˈlej-ər 

: a book in which accounts are kept in final form