book value
Americannoun
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the value of a business, property, etc., as stated in a book of accounts (distinguished from market value).
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total assets minus all liabilities; net worth.
noun
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the value of an asset of a business according to its books
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the net capital value of an enterprise as shown by the excess of book assets over book liabilities
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the value of a share computed by dividing the net capital value of an enterprise by its issued shares Compare par value market value
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Etymology
Origin of book value
First recorded in 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It has nothing to do with the ratios of price to corporate earnings, sales, book value, dividends, GDP, and so forth.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Holden said bank stocks are trading at about 16 times expected earnings, well above a 10-year historical average of 10.8 times, and at 2.6 times book value compared with a historical average of 1.7 times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Smaller builders are trading near or below book value, and all have relatively small market capitalizations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
He says current valuations already reflect optimism over capital management, with the sector trading at 1.15X forward book value, one standard deviation above its five-year average.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
When two partners divide up the profits of a business between them they assign a notional book value to the stock in hand.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
