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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

installment plan

Originally proposed by Beardsley Ruml, an executive at Macy’s department store who encouraged shoppers to buy on the installment plan, withholding was cleverly called “pay as you go.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 25, 2026

Another provision of the law allows beneficiaries to pay for drugs on an installment plan, instead of having to pay a hefty bill over a short period of time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2024

To avoid her unpaid rent going to collections, she signed an installment plan, agreeing to pay $495 per month.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2023

They sometimes worked on the installment plan, taking little or no money up front from a defector or his family.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden