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 of installment

Noun (1)

• inauguration
• inaugural

Examples of installment in a Sentence

Noun (1)

attended the installment of the new university president

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The opening installments look and feel like a very familiar serial killer show, a genre in which Kirk (Dexter, Luther) is well-versed. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2026

This marks the third installment of the popular event, held amidst Iowa's iconic cornfields, adjacent to the site of the 1989 Kevin Costner film. — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Last season was the first installment of that payment ($4 million), which the team used to help absorb a $10 million scoreboard improvement. — Jason Quick, New York Times, 21 July 2026

The second installment launched to a series-high 3M viewers across platforms in the seven-day window, per NBCU, up an impressive 86% versus last year’s series premiere. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 21 July 2026

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