down payment

American  

Or down-payment

noun

1. an initial amount paid at the time of purchase, in installment buying, time sales, etc.

2. any initial or partial payment, gift, favor, or recompense, as to reduce one's indebtedness or express one's obligation or gratitude.

   This gift is just a down payment for all the favors I owe you.

---

down payment British  

noun

1. the deposit paid on an item purchased on hire-purchase, mortgage, etc

---

down payment Cultural  

1. A payment in part made at the time of purchase of a good, with the promise to make full payment later.

---

Etymology

Origin of down payment

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Her parents saved for three years to get their down payment together.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

The new offering from Better Home & Finance and Coinbase allows home buyers to pledge bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies when making a down payment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

The median down payment for a home at the end of 2025 was $78,831, according to Bankrate.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026

This might be a program where a renter stays for an agreed number of years in return for a lump sum at the end of the tenancy that can be put toward a down payment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

On the upside, Dad said, the house had cost only a thousand dollars, and the owner had waived the down payment.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Related Words

• deposit