What does logged mean?
Logged means recorded, entered, or registered in a log or other record-keeping system. It is especially common in technical and administrative contexts, where it describes information that has been captured for later reference, such as logged data, logged errors, logged hours, or a logged flight. As the past tense and past participle of log, it also describes the act of making such a record. The word can refer more broadly to anything entered in a log, including a vessel's movements, a user's account activity, or a sequence of events. In forestry, logged has the older, more specialized meaning of marked for felling. The word is useful because it emphasizes the existence of a record rather than merely the occurrence of an event: something may have happened, but it is logged when that occurrence has been formally noted. Its modern associations with software, data management, and online accounts make it especially familiar in contemporary English.
Recorded, entered, or registered in a log or record-keeping system.
"The software displays all logged activity for the previous day."
Common with data, errors, activity, hours, and other items entered into a system.
Marked in a log, especially a tree marked for felling.
"The foresters left the logged trees untouched until the designated season."
This sense is specialized and chiefly associated with forestry and woodland management.
Past tense and past participle of log: to record in a log or register in a system.
"The operator logged every attempt to access the database."
The common modern combinations include logged in, logged out, logged a flight, and logged an error.
From a page in a ship's log to a modern cloud dashboard, logging preserves a trace of what happened—an idea that powers search history, audit trails, and much of the digital world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does logged come from?
Logged is formed from the English noun log, meaning a record or a book in which entries are made, together with the regular past-tense and participial ending -ed. The English word log itself has Middle English roots in forms such as logge, although the precise origin of the record-keeping sense is debated. The older verb log developed from the practice of making entries in such a record; the specialized meaning relating to marking trees comes from the verb's logging sense.
Related word forms
How logged is actually used
In modern computing and operations, logged commonly describes information that has been recorded in a system: logged data, logged errors, or logged activity. The expression logged in and logged out refers to accessing or leaving an account or device. In forestry, logged may also mean marked for felling.
Easily confused with logged
Logged means recorded in or entered into a log, whereas lodged means formally presented or deposited, as in a complaint or an application.
Logged is a past form of log meaning recorded in a record or system, while dialogue is a conversation between two or more people.