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

John Hannah, who appeared in the previous Mummy movies made at the turn of the century, is reuniting with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz for the latest installment of the horror-adventure franchise. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2026

The third installment of the nationwide anti-Trump rallies will take place Saturday. —Casey Parks, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2026

Interviews from that project were also turned into an installment of Audible’s Words + Music series, which was released earlier this month. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2026

Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 26 Mar. 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