layaway
AmericanOther Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of layaway
First recorded in 1880–85; noun use of verb phrase lay away
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Others are already planning for Christmas and Valentine’s Day gifts, using layaway programs that stretch up to 10 months to manage the cost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
“Go to Walmart and pay off someone’s layaway account,” she wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 20, 2026
The loans, digital versions of old-time layaway plans, are commonly known as “pay in four” because they’re often advertised as purchases that can be split into four payments over six weeks.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2024
What the neighborhood didn’t know was that my dad only had enough money to buy the track jacket – the matching track pants and shell-toe Adidas shoes were still on layaway.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
Amabhujua will put a shirt on layaway, one shirt, and spend seven months paying it off.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
“I have paid for all of your layaways for Christmas,” Perry said smiling.
From Fox News ● Dec. 7, 2018
Did Carole’s family pay off the dead girl’s Christmas gifts in department store layaways?
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
