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DictionaryescrowConditional third-party holding
noun / verb

escrow

ES-kroh/ɛskrˈoʊ/

Money or property held by a neutral third party until agreed conditions are met, or placing it in such care.

The buyer places the deposit in escrow until the sale is final.

A neutral third-party clerk holds a sealed money envelope in a small locked box between a buyer with house keys and a seller, hands paused until agreed exchange.
Etymology
escrowOld Frenchscrap, single parchment

Escroe meant a scrap or single parchment. Escrow came to mean a deed held by a third party until a condition was met, then extended to money held under such conditions.

In context

Ethereum Foundation27:20
maybe the money that I earn is in an escrow account, so like a third party during this provisional period
Social Composability Design: How DAOs Can Leverage It for the Future of Work by Dominic Emanuel Horn

More examples

  • The escrow agreement requires both parties to approve the release of funds.
  • We escrow the payment with an independent agent until delivery.
  • The disputed funds remain escrowed until the court resolves the case.

Forms

escrow · escrows · escrowed · escrowing

Similar words

deposit
May go directly to a seller rather than a neutral holder.
trust
Holds assets for beneficiaries, not necessarily pending agreed conditions.