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 third installment in Murphy’s killer franchise has performed interestingly in its debut month. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025

It was published in serial installments in the magazine Russkiy Vestnik from January, 1879, to November, 1880. —Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025

Both characters deepened in that show’s later installments. —Esther Zuckerman, Time, 21 Oct. 2025

Michael Mann’s Heat 2 and the next installment to Sony Pictures’ Jumanji headline the first round of movie subsidies to Hollywood after California’s historic expansion of the entertainment tax credit program, a bid to revitalize production in the state. —Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 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