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

Our last word of Margot and Johanna appears in a handwritten ledger of food rations from Lodz’s Jewish ghetto. —Steven A. Harvey, Baltimore Sun, 4 Nov. 2024

The British monarch, who died in September 2022, was buried under a black marble ledger stone that resembles the 400-year-old Knight’s Tombstone. —Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024

Law enforcement officials discovered $6,000 in cash, receipts documenting money transfers to Sinaloa, Mexico, and ledgers with details about drug transactions. —Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024

Of course, people should be paid to keep these ledgers. —Laura Shin, TIME, 29 Oct. 2024

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