book value

noun

: the value of something as shown on bookkeeping records as distinguished from market value:

a

: the value of an asset equal to cost minus depreciation

b

: the value of a corporation's stock equal to its book value minus its liabilities

Examples of book value in a Sentence

I paid $4,100 for the car four years ago, but its book value is now under $500.

Recent Examples on the Web

Those are added to the existing book value, meaning £32m is amortised over the four years of the new deal at a rate of £8m per year — £2m less than previously. —Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025

By book value, the BOJ’s ETF holdings are worth roughly 37 trillion yen ($251 billion). —William Pesek, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025

The foundry, for example, has a book value of about $70 billion, but is currently a huge money loser. —Charlene Barshefsky, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2025

At the end of 2024, Macy’s owned nearly 300 buildings valued collectively between $8 billion and $10 billion — roughly double the company’s book value on the stock market. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for book value

• eigenvalue
• undervalue

Legal Definition

book value

noun

: the value of something as shown on bookkeeping records as distinguished from market value: as

a

: the value of an asset equal to cost less depreciation

b

: the value of a corporation's capital stock expressed as its original cost less depreciation and liabilities