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

On top of sky-high home prices, monthly mortgage payments have also nearly doubled since January 2020, coming out to $2,188 (assuming a 10% down payment), according to Zillow. —Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 27 May 2024

Despite paying a $30,000 down payment, Kingston did not fulfill the remaining payments or produce the promotional content as agreed. —Melissa Noel, Essence, 24 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

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