down payment

American  

Or down-payment

noun

down payments plural

1. an initial amount paid at the time of purchase, in installment buying, time sales, etc.

2. any initial or partial payment, gift, favor, or recompense, as to reduce one's indebtedness or express one's obligation or gratitude.

   This gift is just a down payment for all the favors I owe you.

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down payment British  

noun

1. the deposit paid on an item purchased on hire-purchase, mortgage, etc

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down payment Cultural  

1. A payment in part made at the time of purchase of a good, with the promise to make full payment later.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• down payments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of down payment

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

down payment

There are also examples of advisers pushing for mortgages for friends and romantic partners who lack the proper down payment, income or other criteria needed, the people said and documents show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Of Gen Z homebuyers, 13% used family gifts in order to cover the down payment.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

Recently, his mom asked if he could pitch in for a down payment on a new family car, so he’s set aside some of his savings for that too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

A down payment is traditionally about 20% of the purchase price of a home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

A few months later, we used the advance for my second novel and placed a down payment on a pretty, two-bedroom Victo­rian house in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

• deposit