Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for hire-purchase. Search instead for pre-purchase.

hire-purchase

British  

noun

  1. US and Canadian equivalents: instalment plan.   installment plan.   HP.   h.p.

    1. 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

    2. ( as modifier )

      hire-purchase legislation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

It’s a form of hire-purchase that can work out dear.

From Forbes

But the stock of lending in the Bank's category of "other loans" - typically bank loans, overdrafts and hire-purchase agreements - dropped by £200m, as consumers repaid more loans that month than they took out.

From BBC

But the terms of the agreement may sometimes purposely obscure the nature of the transaction between the parties, where, for example, the hire-purchase is merely to create a security for money.

From Project Gutenberg

He took the young man round to a neighbouring costumier’s, and secured a dress-suit on the hire-purchase system, at a very small outlay of ready money which he advanced.

From Project Gutenberg

Since the cost of sewing machines was quite high and the average family income was low, Clark suggested the adoption of the hire-purchase plan.

From Project Gutenberg