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 translates to a house price of roughly $365,000 with the same 20% down payment. — Bydoug Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 July 2026

Payments are often made in four installments — a 25% down payment at the time of purchase, followed by three more equal payments over the next six weeks. — Stephanie Dhue,sharon Epperson, CNBC, 14 July 2026

Casa Familiar’s community land trust will offer 103 affordable rental homes and plans to eventually offer a down payment assistance program to help residents buy theirs. — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 July 2026

Most people do not have the funds in their savings account to cover an emergency expense, much less save for retirement, childcare, or a down payment on a home. — Oliver Adams Larkin, Sun Sentinel, 10 July 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