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

They’re getting married later (average age of a HelloPrenup user is 37, ten years older than the average age a decade ago), swapping lavish ceremonies for house down payments, and having pets and plants instead of children. —Julia Rodgers, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025

The credit company gets paid back for its rebate, or down payment. —Jackie Charniga, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025

Other champions, like season 10’s Dan Gheesling, took a different approach, investing most of the prize and limiting splurges to practical purchases, like a condo down payment. —Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025

The membership system offered four programs — Habitual, Out-of-Towner, the Entertainer and Corporate — with each tier requiring a down payment and monthly fees ranging from $50 to $500. —Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 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