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

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

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

From Seattle Times • Dec. 6, 2022

AT&T’s starts at $13.89 per month when you buy their installment plan.

From The Verge • Aug. 10, 2022

A home improvement loan is an unsecured loan provided by a lender that would allow you to finance major repairs and pay it back on an installment plan.

From Slate • Jul. 2, 2022

That winter my mother and brother came and we set up housekeeping, buying furniture on the installment plan, being cheated and yet knowing no way to avoid it.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright