down payment

noun

Synonyms of down paymentnext
: a part of the full price paid at the time of purchase or delivery with the balance to be paid later
broadly : the first step in a process

Examples of down payment in a Sentence

She made a 10 percent down payment on the car. We put a down payment on the house.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Last April, bride-to-be Christine Carney booked the Plaza for her wedding, and was still sorting out down payments for the booking as of just a few weeks ago. — Timothy Latterner, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026 The Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees a portion of the loan issued by private lenders — a structure called an entitlement — which lets customers secure a 0% down payment. — Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 Buying a home usually requires a big down payment and expensive closing costs. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026 Others can involve providing financial stability for a child who has pursued a meaningful and fulfilling career that does not pay very much, or assisting younger family members with a down payment in a tight housing market. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for down payment

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of down payment was in 1854

Rhymes for down payment

See All Rhymes for down payment

Browse Nearby Words

Downpatrick
down payment
downpipe
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Down payment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down%20payment. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

down payment

noun
: a part of the full price paid at the time of purchase or delivery with the remainder to be paid later

More from Merriam-Webster on down payment

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for down payment

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fervid

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All