down payment

noun
1.
an initial amount paid at the time of purchase, in installment buying, time sales, etc.
2.
any initial or partial payment, gift, favor, or recompense, as to reduce one's indebtedness or express one's obligation or gratitude: This gift is just a down payment for all the favors I owe you.
Also, down-pay·ment.

Origin:
1925–30

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
down payment
 
—n
the deposit paid on an item purchased on hire-purchase, mortgage, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Down payment is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

down payment definition


A payment in part made at the time of purchase of a good, with the promise to make full payment later.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
He qualified for government insurance, which meant he needed only a small down
  payment.
Six years should be the max length of a car loan and there needs to be
  increasing down payment requirements for longer loans.
But the purchase of instant fame requires a down payment.
My parents paid for my college and helped me with my first down payment.
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