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 Pixar franchise’s latest installment balances humor with sadness, following the toys’ quest for survival in the digital age.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
The franchise’s previous installment, “Toy Story 4,” brought in almost $1.1 billion in global box office in 2019.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026
I was skeptical that the world needed a fifth installment of the Toy Story franchise, but then I read Dana Stevens’ write-up of a film that “wrestles with an existential threat to the franchise—and triumphs.”
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2026
The first installment revolved around solar contractor Ronald Gladden, who participated in a court case along with a preposterous group of actor-jurors sequestered together for the proceedings.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
I'll get a library card tomorrow and carry back my first installment of books.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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.
