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

Many of these individuals are now formalizing those balances into structured savings plans, investment portfolios, or down payments for major purchases. —Ron Shevlin, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

The funds can be used to cover closing costs or a down payment, or to pay off your old mortgage. —Dan Avery,maya Benjamin, CNBC, 24 June 2025

Allocating this money isn’t just an investment into the safety of the people who use the 90-year-old bridges, according to the state’s transportation chief, but a down payment into the welfare of all Bay State residents. —Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald, 19 June 2025

About Trump Mobile's T1 phone: price, pics, features The Trump Mobile phone, called the T1 Phone, will retail for $499 with a down payment of $100. —Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 19 June 2025

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