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 other side of the ledger from that $248 billion in debt that is not quite debt is $523 billion of revenue that is not quite revenue, WSJ’s Jonathan Weil reports. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 3 Feb. 2026

On the other side of the ledger stands a small, weak country 90 miles off South Florida whose only redeeming quality is the enterprising spirit of its people. —Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026

That Robeson could be defanged and disappeared from the ledger is a matter of cultural and political theft, history-eating. —Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026

However, Stephen Curry, who’ll turn 38 in March and has four rings on his ledger, seems content to play it out in the Bay, regardless of whether management can draw the inside straight needed to land Antetokounmpo or any other difference-maker. —David Aldridge, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026

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

Rhymes for ledger

• dredger
• edger
• hedger

Kids Definition

ledger

noun

led·​ger ˈlej-ər 

: a book in which accounts are kept in final form