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
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
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
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
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
Jim LockeExamples of ledger in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On the other side of the ledger, average California wages rose 20.9% in those four years.
—Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 17 June 2024
From artificial intelligence to augmented reality and virtual reality, biotechnology, blockchain, distributed ledger and geoengineering, this is the most complex combination of transformative technologies ever witnessed in our planetary and human history.
—Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
That would look much better than the ledger does now: The Giants are one of only two NFL teams who are paying four players in the top 55 of the league’s average annual salaries.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 4 June 2024
Not as high as the final months at the lower, last-minute price point — 30 percent lower to be exact — but still comfortably on the positive side of the ledger.
—Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ledger 
Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 17 June 2024
From artificial intelligence to augmented reality and virtual reality, biotechnology, blockchain, distributed ledger and geoengineering, this is the most complex combination of transformative technologies ever witnessed in our planetary and human history.
—Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
That would look much better than the ledger does now: The Giants are one of only two NFL teams who are paying four players in the top 55 of the league’s average annual salaries.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 4 June 2024
Not as high as the final months at the lower, last-minute price point — 30 percent lower to be exact — but still comfortably on the positive side of the ledger.
—Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ledger
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ledger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ledger
Cite this Entry
“Ledger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ledger. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ledger
noun
led·ger
ˈlej-ər 
: a book in which accounts are kept in final form
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