down payment

American  

Or down-payment

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of down payment

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Real estate, as you said, is probably off the table, seeing as the median down payment on a home clocks in at $62,000, according to Bankrate.

From MarketWatch

Buyers and sellers may have been prepared for the down payments and borrowing costs involved in the purchase of a home.

From MarketWatch

“We spent our whole careers to put a down payment on it.”

From MarketWatch

She is accused of using some of those funds to put a $150,000 down payment on a house in North Carolina and to pay for her wedding expenses.

From Los Angeles Times

But to unlock a flood of new lending, especially for first-time buyers trying to make a suitable down payment, would probably require much more than changes at the margins of capital rules.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• deposit