decentralized
Americanadjective
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(of a central authority) having much of the decision-making power vested in teams, divisions, or local branches instead of in a single center of power.
They implemented a decentralized scheme for the business, dividing it into four geographic areas managed by local staff.
A system of decentralized government empowered communities at the grassroots level and gave them a say in how they were governed.
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happening or carried out locally and usually independently.
Decentralized wastewater treatment puts the treatment system at or near the school, industrial site, etc., that generates the wastewater.
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dispersed from a core area; spread out.
It is challenging for our state to provide public services and infrastructure to an ever-growing and decentralized population base.
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(of currency) not controlled or distributed by a government, bank, or other third party, as bitcoin and some other digital currencies.
While decentralized currencies are hurting in a bearish month, the prospects for state-issued virtual money look even dimmer.
verb
Etymology
Origin of decentralized
First recorded in 1830–40; decentralize + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; decentralize ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense
Explanation
When something is controlled or regulated by many separate groups rather than one main group, it's decentralized. Many fast food chains are decentralized, with different franchises, owners, and managers spread across the world. In many ways, the United States is decentralized. Although there is a central, federal government (with a president and congress that govern the entire country), many laws and regulations are decentralized, controlled separately by the individual states. In a decentralized business model, control and leadership are shared by many managers at different locations, instead of having one boss making all the rules.
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.
Lance Parthemore, a 24-year old who runs a company specializing in the detection of e-cigarettes, said the website is fitting for the decentralized holding company.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
The total value locked in decentralized finance—a measure of liquidity in the system—has fallen to $83.3 billion from $99.5 billion on April 18, according to DeFiLlama.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
Once The Migration is complete and we are fully decentralized, your body is no longer the server.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
In effect, Taiwan’s convenience stores operate as decentralized platform businesses—combining payments, logistics, retail, and services in a single physical location.
From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026
As with Pythagoras, in Darwin’s model, every organism carried information to build organs and structures in miniaturized form—except in Darwin’s case, the information was decentralized.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
