hire-purchase system

American  

[hahyuhr-pur-chuhs] / ˈhaɪərˈpɜr tʃəs /

noun

British.

1. a system of payment for a commodity in regular installments while using it.

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Etymology

Origin of hire-purchase system

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

If this is the "hire-purchase system," a piano-less life is infinitely preferable to braving its manifold perils and penalties.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, April 25, 1891 by Various

You can get them on the hire-purchase system.

From People of Position by Boehm, H. Richard

She managed secretly to save enough money to surprise and delight Olivier with a hired piano, which, on the hire-purchase system became their property at the end of a certain number of months.

From Jean Christophe: in Paris The Market-Place, Antoinette, the House by Cannan, Gilbert

No: I have that on the hire-purchase system.

From You Never Can Tell by Shaw, Bernard

Also houses could be built for people whose work takes them to town, but who want good air for their children; the hire-purchase system, you know.

From The Beautiful An Introduction to Psychological Aesthetics by Lee, Vernon