DeFi

D2E1F4I1
/ˈdiːˌfaɪ/

A form of decentralized finance — An experimental form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries, but instead uses smart contracts on blockchains.

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Meanings

nounDeFi (uncountable)
  1. abbreviationinitialismuncountablebusinessInitialism of decentralized finance.

    DeFi services use smart contracts, cryptocurrency, and blockchain to replace some of the services that banking has traditionally provided.

    2020, Lorne Lantz, Daniel Cawrey, Mastering Blockchain, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 158
    1 more example

    DeFi eliminates human intermediaries like brokers, bank clerks and traders, and instead uses algorithms to execute financial transactions, such as lending and borrowing.

    2021 September 5, Eric Lipton, Ephrat Livni, “Crypto’s Rapid Move Into Banking Elicits Alarm in Washington”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
decentralized finance

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

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Cite this entry
APA

DeFi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/DeFi

MLA

“DeFi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/DeFi. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “DeFi,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/DeFi.

Source: DeFi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.