installment
1 Americannoun
-
Finance. any of several parts into which a debt or other sum payable is divided for payment at successive fixed times; the scheduled periodic payment made on an installment loan.
to pay for furniture in monthly installments.
-
a single portion of something furnished or issued by parts at successive times.
a magazine serial in six installments.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of installment1
First recorded in 1770–75; in- 2 + obsolete (e)stallment, equivalent to estall “to arrange payment on an installment plan” (perhaps from Anglo-French ) + -ment
Origin of installment2
Explanation
An installment is a part or section of something, like the monthly installment you pay on your credit card debt or the latest installment of your favorite TV show. "Partial payment" is the oldest meaning of this word, and it's still a common way to use it: "She sold me the bike and I'm paying her in installments." It's also used for anything split into sections or episodes. Your favorite serialized comic comes out in installments every three months, but you only have to wait a day for the next installment of that afternoon soap opera!
Vocabulary lists containing installment
All My Rage
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Chapter 25: The Jazz Age
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Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
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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.
The 2026 slate includes the thriller series “The Night Agent,” another installment of Ryan Murphy’s “Monster” and the David Fincher-directed sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
This was also the conclusion of the Mapping the World report by Deutsche Bank in July and one of the findings of the Economist’s latest installment of the Big Mac Index.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
But in the latest installment from the Marvel cinematic universe, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Parker - played by Tom Holland - is not the only star in disguise.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Here we are, the latest installment of college sports dropping the ruse that it isn’t all about the dollars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
“If you think you can manage, I might head home for a few days. I’ve got an installment to write and some weeding to attend to.”
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
