down payment

noun

Definition of down payment

: 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

Come to work for his company full time as a customer care specialist, and save her rent money to put a down payment on a house. — Maureen C. Gilmer, Indianapolis Star, "A chance meeting with 'Undercover Boss' changed Indianapolis woman's life," 26 June 2018 This doesn’t mean municipalities would pick up the entire tab for a project but something akin to a down payment. — Shirley Leung, BostonGlobe.com, "With millionaires tax off the ballot, how else do we pay for transportation and education?," 19 June 2018 There, homebuyers would need to carry a mortgage in excess of a million dollars — even with a 20 percent down payment. — Fiza Pirani, ajc, "This is the salary you need to buy a home in Atlanta," 14 June 2018 Any salesman who tried to shame them into a down payment would have had his work cut out for him. — Joy Wallace Dickinson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Magic carpets of steel brought family together," 13 May 2018 Mandate funds could be used in the first or second years of the program as a down payment toward coverage, which taxpayers can decline. — Washington Post, "Maryland lawmakers tackle health care proposals," 30 Mar. 2018 According to the study, 49 percent of couples with cash registries used the funds to help pay for their honeymoon, while 27 percent put it toward a down payment on a home. — Christen A. Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Paying for student loans, IVF with wedding money? Cash, charity registries increasingly common, study says," 22 June 2018 The city would own the 19-story tower after three decades without so much as a down payment. — Jeff Mcdonald, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Seller proposed Ash Street tower as a new City Hall, and Faulconer aides never told the City Council," 28 May 2018 Parents do this in myriad ways — chip in on tuition, help out after college, or contribute to a down payment on a home. — Charlotte Cowles, The Cut, "I’m 34 and My Parents Still Give Me a Clothing Allowance," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'down payment.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.