Smart contract

How it is used

Developers write, test, deploy, audit and interact with smart contracts, and each one has its own contract address. Despite the name, a smart contract is code, not a legal agreement, so lawyers use the word carefully.

Example sentences

1. The smart contract releases the payment automatically when both sides confirm delivery.

2. We found a bug in the smart contract two days before launch.

Common collocations

• deploy a smart contract
• audit a smart contract
• interact with a smart contract
• smart contract address
• smart contract bug

Related terms

• SolidityThe most widely used programming language for writing smart contracts on Ethereum and other EVM-compatible blockchains. Its syntax looks a little like JavaScript and C++.
• deployTo publish a smart contract to a blockchain so that it gets its own address and can be used. Deploying costs gas, and the code usually cannot be changed afterwards.
• auditA detailed security review of smart contract code by independent experts, who look for bugs and weaknesses before the code goes live and publish their findings in a report.
• EVMShort for Ethereum Virtual Machine: the software environment that runs smart contracts on Ethereum. Every node runs it, so all nodes get the same result from the same code.
• dAppShort for decentralized application: an app whose main logic runs on smart contracts on a blockchain instead of on a company's own servers. Users usually open it in a browser and connect a wallet.

More terms: Smart Contracts & dApps

• oracle
• protocol
• DAO