Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

down payment

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.63 in modern English

Syllables: down -pay-ment
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A payment representing a fraction of the price of something being purchased, made to secure the right to continue making payments towards that purchase.

noun

Any initial commitment signifying an intention to carry out a larger future commitment, even though no legal rights or obligations are secured.

Example Sentences

"Her parents considered her school tuition a down payment on her future."
"After decades of empty rhetoric, that's the down payment that we need on energy independence."
"2009 April 4, Barack Obama, NATO summit These commitments of troops, trainers, and civilians represent a strong down payment on the future of our mission in Afghanistan and on the future of NATO."
"After all, when you buy a car, you're making a large down payment on future journeys - buying an annual rail pass or railcard should be no different."

Inflected Forms

down payments (plural)

Derived Forms

downposit

Frequently Paired Words

advance payment up-front money front money

Synonyms

deposit

Questions

What does down payment mean?: A payment representing a fraction of the price of something being purchased, made to secure the right to continue making payments towards that purchase.

How to pronounce down payment

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “down payment”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “down payment” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.