down payment

noun

: 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

There is no minimum credit score requirement and the loan can be combined with down payment assistance. —Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2025

The bank’s Lift Up Homeownership Program is meant to help first-time homebuyers who are Black, Latino, Native American, Asian or native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander make a down payment on a home. —Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2025

The fine print: Redfin's data estimates monthly housing payments for the typical homebuyer using data on home sales, mortgage rates, income and the assumption of a 15% down payment. —Ryan Deto, Axios, 27 Jan. 2025

Oh, to time-travel through these series cold opens with an apartment down payment in hand). —Glynnis MacNicol, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

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