What does "ledger" mean?
A book for keeping notes; a record book, a register.
Ledger
/ˈlɛd͡ʒə/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A book for keeping notes; a record book, a register.
- Grammar: ledger is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: account book, a book, acc, account.
- Useful contrasts: unlisted, unmarked grave, unrecorded.
- Usage evidence: There are many questionable points in this ledger.
How to use "ledger"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ledger" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ledger" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ledger" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ledger" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ledger" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "account book" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ledger", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A book for keeping notes; a record book, a register.
"Our ledger has no entry for the human pain caused by war."
- 2 an accounting journal as a physical object wordnet
- 3 A book or other scheme for keeping accounting records.
"The firſt Leidger, or Leidger Nº A. being thus finiſh'd, it is requiſite to prepare for the erecting of thy Accounts anew in a Leidger Nº B. or thy ſecond Leidger, which thou ſhalt do thus."
- 4 a record in which commercial accounts are recorded wordnet
- 5 A book or other scheme for keeping accounting records.; A distributed ledger, a public financial transaction database, typically using a blockchain.
"To be clear: there's only one ledger, but that ledger is not stored in any one central location. Rather, identical copies exist on every node—a copy on every computer."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A collection of accounting entries consisting of credits and debits.
"The Leger exhibits at one view the accounts with an individual, as it contains on the Dr. [debit] side whatever he has received, and on the Cr. [credit] side whatever he has paid. […] Let each account be posted from the Day Book in its proper place in the Leger. If a mistake be made, let it be corrected by an account in the Day Book, clearly stating the correction, and then let this account be posted in its proper place in the Leger, that no blot or erasure may disfigure its pages."
- 7 A large, flat stone, especially one laid over a tomb.
"In Great Britain ledgers that were placed outside of churches are sometimes termed external ledgers, while those placed within churches are called internal ledgers […] Ledgers generally sit directly on the ground or on low supports."
- 8 A board attached to a wall to provide support for attaching other structural elements (such as deck joists or roof rafters) to a building.
"[The dome was] turned upon a centre laid without any standard from below to support it. Every story of the scaffolding being circular, and the ends of the ledgers meeting as so many rings, and truly wrought, it supported itself; […]"
- 9 Ellipsis of ledger bait (“fishing bait attached to a floating line fastened to the bank of a pond, stream, etc.”) or ledger line (“fishing line used with ledger bait for bottom fishing; ligger”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"[W]hen fishing for Eels with a ledger line as well as a floated line, don't be in too much haste to strike when you see a bite, for Eels generally gorge the bait, and consequently hook themselves, if you give them time, […] I always use two hooks on my ledger, placing the top one about two feet above the bottom, and to prevent it from moving from its proper place, fix a shot above it and below it, […]"
Verb
- 1 To record (something) in, or as if in, a ledger. transitive
"Our tears are bottled, to signify that our griefs are carefully measured; and they are booked, to teach us that they are numbered.—Psal[ms] lvi. 8. Our tears being bottled, and ledgered, will signify that our afflictions are not the effects of change, but the registered dispensations of heaven. Ay, and your enjoyments are by lot."
- 2 To use (a certain type of bait) in bottom fishing. transitive
"The added advantage of legering a small bait rather than freelining one is that you can tighten up harder to the bait and so spot runs earlier."
- 3 To engage in bottom fishing. intransitive
"In the fashion pursued by the fishermen who require to cast a long line on the Thames, for ledgering or spinning more particularly, the line is drawn off the reel and laid loosely in coils at the fisherman's feet, […]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"There are many questionable points in this ledger."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ledger"?
Common synonyms include: account book, a book, acc, account, account book, accounts.
How do you use "ledger" in a sentence?
There are many questionable points in this ledger.
How do you pronounce "ledger"?
Pronounced /ˈlɛd͡ʒə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English liggere, ligger, leger (“large breviary; beam, plank; dweller, inhabitant”), from liggen, leggen, variants of līen (“to lie down; to bow, kneel, prostrate; to die; to be located (somewhere); to remain in place, stay”), from Old English liċġan (“to lie down; to be situated”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”). The word is cognate with Saterland Frisian Lägger (“floor board, joist, plank”), West Frisian lêger (“beam, plank”), Dutch legger (“daybook; layer”) (from leggen (“to lay”), liggen (“to lie down”)), and is related to English ledge, lie (“to be prostrate”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology 2
Two possible origins: * English patronymic surname from either the Norman personal name Leodegar or the Old French equivalent Legier, both containing the Proto-Germanic elements *liudiz (“men, people”) and *garwaz (“ready, prepared”). * English metonymic occupational surname for a stonemason, from ledger, itself a derivative of Old English leċġan (“to lay”).