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

But for 27-year-old Brian Torres Suazo, that milestone feels like a distant dream, despite a secure job with union wages and down payment assistance. —Jonathan J. Cooper, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026

One of those is the Homes for Texas Heroes program, which offers home down payment assistance for teachers, police officers, corrections officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians. —Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Mar. 2026

For families planning ahead for their kids’ big life expenses—like a down payment on a home or a wedding, the plans have no contribution limit and are much more flexible around investment options. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2026

That measurement also assumes the buyer has a 20% down payment, which in this case would be $80,060. —Sarah Agostino, CNBC, 7 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