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

The four-year cycle theory is partly tied to the process of Bitcoin’s halving, which cuts rewards to miners that keep the blockchain that backs up Bitcoin running. — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026

Launched earlier this year, Robinhood Chain is a blockchain that supports the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026

MyStarChain will present its blockchain voting platform MyStarPick, and HiStranger will introduce Insight Flow, a tool that reads biosignals to gauge audience emotional response. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

But the group has also been trying to monetize the leaks by asking gamers to buy the group’s meme coin on the Solana blockchain. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026

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