DeFi
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of DeFi
First recorded in 2015–20
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.
Like traditional banks, DeFi applications allow users to borrow, lend, earn interest, and trade.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
While digital credit does exist in the form of lending from DeFi firms, institutional leverage hasn’t made its way into using bitcoin as a vehicle for lending.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
This does not reflect traditional consumer borrowing, but rather crypto holders using digital assets as collateral as DeFi credit markets grow in size and activity.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 6, 2026
In recent years, however, there has been a steady migration of crypto activity to DeFi.
From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026
DeFi promises anonymity, cheap conversion into stablecoins, and ownership structures opaque enough to frustrate enforcement.
From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026
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.
