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

Your actual monthly housing expense will include property taxes, homeowners insurance and private mortgage insurance if your down payment is less than 20%. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025

Such declarations can result in lower mortgage rates or a smaller down payment requirement than if a property is declared to be a second or vacation home. —Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2025

In partnership with the Arvest Opportunity Fund, this program helps qualified first-time homebuyers secure financing with no down payment and no private mortgage insurance fee, empowering homeownership success through financial education requirements. —Jason Peters, Kansas City Star, 13 Nov. 2025

That means if the home buyer put down a down payment of 20%, their monthly payment of the principal and interest would be $2,455, according to Fannie Mae’s mortgage calculator. —Chantelle Lee, Time, 11 Nov. 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