down payment

noun

: a part of the full price paid at the time of purchase or delivery with the balance to be paid later

broadly : the first step in a process

Examples of down payment in a Sentence

She made a 10 percent down payment on the car.

We put a down payment on the house.

Recent Examples on the Web

That money is supposed to be deployed for things like the construction of affordable or workforce housing, rehabilitation of existing housing, and down payment assistance for homebuyers. —Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2026

And don’t forget the $157,000 down payment required to make this deal work. —Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026

Make a down payment on a house The average tax refund in 2026 is close to $3,700. —Dan Avery, CNBC, 17 Mar. 2026

The down payment amount is not listed. —Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for down payment

• copayment
• embayment
• nonpayment
• prepayment
• repayment
• claimant
• overpayment
• underpayment

Kids Definition

down payment

noun

: a part of the full price paid at the time of purchase or delivery with the remainder to be paid later