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 reservations required refundable $50 deposits, but the orders will come with $300 nonrefundable down payments. — Michael Wayland, CNBC, 24 June 2026

Making a higher down payment (an automaker’s cash rebate can come in handy here) can sometimes trigger a notch lower interest rate by incrementally reducing the outstanding balance, and in turn the lender’s financial risk. — Jim Gorzelany, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026

Under this proposal, support staff who’ve spent at least five years working for the UC system would be eligible for no interest, 20% down payment loans. — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 23 June 2026

Add in a down payment, and your target purchase price comes into focus. — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 22 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