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.
The word “DeFiant” was a coy wink to this idea of decentralized currency, known as DeFi, the ostensible rationale for the new Trump–Witkoff platform.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Markets are navigating elevated volatility amid heightened geopolitical risk, with the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook remaining a primary driver for risk assets, including digital assets,” DeFi Technologies president Andrew Forson said.
From Barron's ● 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
Herro and Folkman walked the Trump brothers through their ambition to bring “decentralized finance,” or DeFi, crypto products to people who weren’t savvy traders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 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
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.
