installment

1 of 2

noun (1)

in·​stall·​ment in-ˈstȯl-mənt 

variants or less commonly instalment

1

: one of the parts into which a debt is divided when payment is made at intervals

2

a

: one of several parts (as of a publication) presented at intervals

b

: one part of a serial story

installment adjective

installment

2 of 2

noun (2)

variants or less commonly instalment

: installation sense 1

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• inaugural
• inauguration

Examples of installment in a Sentence

Noun (1)

attended the installment of the new university president

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The closest thing to a second baseman in the first installment of The Athletic’s Top 30 trade candidates was the infielder at No. 29, Baltimore’s Ramon Urías, who has played mostly third in his career. —Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 20 June 2025

Sony committed to making 28 Years Later and a sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, with the possibility of a third installment. —Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2025

Rotten Tomatoes audiences are being pretty hard on this Danny Boyle zombie movie at 67%, despite critics giving the installment the best reviews the 23-year-old franchise has ever seen at 92%. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 20 June 2025

Boyle and Garland took more of a backseat role as producers in the second installment of the series, 28 Weeks Later, but in January, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the duo would be returning for what would mark the start of an entirely new trilogy. —Rachel Flynn, People.com, 19 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

alteration of earlier estallment payment by installment, from estall to arrange payments by installment, from Anglo-French estaler, from estal station, stall, division of a stage, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German stal place, stall

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1776, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1589, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing installment

• installment plan

Rhymes for installment

• instalment

Kids Definition

installment

1 of 2 noun

in·​stall·​ment

variants also instalment

in-ˈstȯl-mənt 

: installation sense 1

installment

2 of 2 noun

variants also instalment

1

: one of the parts into which a debt is divided when payments are made over a period of time

2

: one of several parts (as of a publication) presented over a period of time

installment adjective

Legal Definition

installment

noun

in·​stall·​ment

: one of the parts into which a debt is divided when payment is made at intervals

installment adjective