blockchain

noun

block·​chain ˈbläk-ˌchān 

: a digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network

also : the technology used to create such a database

The technology at the heart of bitcoin and other virtual currencies, blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.

—Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

Examples of blockchain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

They’re designed to keep a stable value, commonly tied 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, and move across blockchain networks instead of having to go through a bank. —Steven Dudash, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

The studio will continue exploring how these platforms and blockchain technology can reshape anime financing, production and consumption. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 1 July 2025

His changes altered the code for two smart contracts the company owned and controlled that lived on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 30 June 2025

In another scheme, IT workers in North Korea used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, and steal virtual currency worth over $900,000. —Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2011, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for blockchain

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• butane
• campaign
• cetane