installment plan

American  

noun

1. a system for paying for an item in fixed amounts at specified intervals.

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installment plan British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): hire-purchase. a system for purchasing merchandise, such as cars or furniture, in which the buyer takes possession of the merchandise on payment of a deposit and completes the purchase by paying a series of regular instalments while the seller retains ownership until the final instalment is paid

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Etymology

Origin of installment plan

First recorded in 1875–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

installment plan

That is perhaps because iPhone buyers aren’t as price sensitive, especially when higher costs are spread out over the many months of a smartphone installment plan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

If a person arranges an installment plan, Bandebo noted that’s not reflected as a delinquent payment.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 25, 2026

Dividing a transaction into, say, a pay-in-four installment plan sounds straightforward and manageable.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2022

Keep in mind this deal requires an installment plan, and the discount is given as bill credits.

From The Verge ● Aug. 10, 2022

They bought an electric refrigerator on the installment plan, and Antonapoulos would suck the cubes of ice constantly and even let a few of them melt in bed with him as he slept.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

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