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• ledger
  ledger

  noun

  an account book or digital file of final entry, in which business transactions are recorded.
• Ledger
  Ledger

  noun

  Heath(cliffe) Andrew . 1979–2008, Australian film actor. His films include The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001) and Brokeback Mountain (2005)

ledger

American  

[lej-er] / ˈlɛdʒ ɛr /

noun

• ledgers
  plural

1. Bookkeeping. an account book or digital file of final entry, in which business transactions are recorded.

   The Controller must oversee, review, and approve of all posting of financial activity into the General Ledger.

2. Computers. a decentralized public database of permanent records of financial transactions, distributed over a network and typically having the form of a blockchain, used especially in cryptocurrency systems.

   When users send or receive a payment in bitcoin, network nodes verify the transaction and then record it in a shared public ledger.

3. Building Trades.

   1. a horizontal board attached to a wall to support the ends of the joists of another structure such as a deck, porch, roof, etc..

      As the cause of the porch’s collapse, the inspector cited a ledger attached with improper screws.

   2. (in scaffolding) a horizontal board or metal tube attached to uprights, either to support the ends of the boards of a platform or for use as a handrail.

      Arrange the ledgers so the platforms slope slightly outwards, carrying rain away from the face of the building.

   3. ribbon.

4. Also called ledger stone. a flat slab of stone laid over a grave or tomb.

   I had a Bible verse engraved on his ledger, ending with the words “Rest in peace.”

5. Angling, Chiefly British. Also leger a lead sinker with a hole in one end through which the line passes, enabling the bait and the sinker to rest on the bottom and allowing the fish to take the bait without detecting the sinker.

   If fishing for bass in particular, the ledger is preferred.

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ledger ¹ British  

/ ˈlɛdʒə /

noun

1. accounting the principal book in which the commercial transactions of a company are recorded

2. a flat horizontal slab of stone

3. a horizontal scaffold pole fixed to two upright poles for supporting the outer ends of putlogs

4. angling

   1. a wire trace that allows the weight to rest on the bottom and the bait to float freely

   2. ( as modifier )

      ledger tackle

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verb

1. (intr) angling to fish using a ledger

Ledger ² British  

/ ˈlɛdʒə /

noun

1. Heath(cliffe) Andrew . 1979–2008, Australian film actor. His films include The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001) and Brokeback Mountain (2005)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ledgers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ledger

First recorded in 1475–85; earlier legger “book,” probably equivalent to legg(en) “to set down, lay” + -er noun suffix; see lay ¹, -er ¹, ledge

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Explanation

A ledger is kind of like a diary, but for money. It's a book for keeping track of expenses, profits, and other financial matters. A ledger is an accounting journal used to keep track of money. Businesses — or their accountants — keep careful ledgers so they know how much money is coming in and going out. If you've ever heard the expression "cook the books" — meaning cheat financially by making things up — the "books" are ledgers. If you like numbers and money, maybe you should become an accountant so you can help people with their ledgers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ledger Ledger ledgers

Asian students were frequently part of that original equation on the nonwhite side of the ledger and counted with other students classified as nonwhite, such as Black or Latino students.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

Banks have been working for years to test and adopt blockchains, the digital ledger technology that powers cryptocurrencies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

They salvaged a point, or three, on other days, but they were on the wrong side of the ledger on so many occasions.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Lately, I’ve started to think I was keeping the wrong ledger.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

She flipped a few pages in the ledger.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

He stays at the luxury Ledger Plaza, which is Wagner’s de facto headquarters when he is in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

Jim Willse, editor of the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., from 1995 until 2010, said he would give “us all the resources we needed to make the Ledger really special.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss., told this story last year: When the future Chargers wideoout was 6, his mother signed him up for flag football in Texas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026

The Canadian bank will offer 24/7 tokenized cash services using derivatives marketplace CME Group’s CME -0.48%decrease; red down pointing triangle network on Google Cloud Universal Ledger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

One works as a counter girl at Nielsen’s General Store, one at a bakery, another at the Hemingford Ledger as a receptionist.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

Agents have learned to painstakingly trace digital currencies, hop by hop, across blockchains—the decentralized ledgers stored on computers around the world that provide a public record of transactions between digital wallets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Dr Helen Paul, an economic historian at the University of Southampton, was one of the experts brought in to decipher 18th Century ledgers.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

During her morning news conference, she seemed to mock some of the U.S. evidence, including hand-written ledgers allegedly denoting payoffs to Mexican politicians.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

BVNK’s infrastructure bridges fiat currency with stablecoins, which are dollar-pegged tokens traded on blockchain ledgers.

From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026

None of the three clerks sitting on their high stools with their backs to him, scratching in ledgers, looked up, so he stepped inside.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

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