double entry

noun Bookkeeping.

a method in which each transaction is entered twice in the ledger, once to the debit of one account, and once to the credit of another.

Compare single entry.

Origin of double entry

First recorded in 1715–25

Related formsdou·ble-en·try, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for double entry

Historical Examples of double entry

They hold a tight rein over recreations and keep their mint-and-cumin tithes by double-entry.
The Faith Doctor
Edward Eggleston
Gladstone never allowed his religion to tint his statesmanship, and we all know businessmen who follow the double-entry scheme.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 12
Elbert Hubbard
The school grounded him in double-entry bookkeeping, in commercial law, and in shorthand and typewriting.
The Fiction Factory
John Milton Edwards
There must be, of course, or where would be the use of this double-entry business?
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 7 (of 25)
Robert Louis Stevenson
He introduced into Boston the system of double-entry in book-keeping, in advance of any other city merchant.
Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made
James D. McCabe, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for double entry

double entry

noun

a book-keeping system in which any commercial transaction is entered as a debit in one account and as a credit in anotherCompare single entry
(as modifier)double-entry book-keeping

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012