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

The city has already distributed over $7 million — using revenue from a local tax on legal marijuana sales — to hundreds of people in $25,000 increments to be used for home repairs, down payments on property, and interest or late penalties on property in the city. —Safiyah Riddle, Fortune, 17 June 2026

For someone buying a $400,000 home with a 20% down payment, the higher interest rate will raise the mortgage payment by about $110 every month. —Scott Horsley, NPR, 17 June 2026

Families that have been priced out of the market are able to use Habitat’s below-market interest rate loans and down payment assistance. —Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 June 2026

In partnership with developer Hayden Homes, the organization sells homes to families through mortgages without a down payment or interest, targeting those who could not typically afford a house at market price. —Matan Josephy, Idaho Statesman, 13 June 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