Down Payment: What It Is and How to Spell It
- Downpayment
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Table of contents
Spelling down payment
The correct spelling of down payment is always as two words, never as one:
- Downpayment
- Down-payment
- Down payment
A down payment is “a payment representing a fraction of the price of something being purchased.” This term comes up a lot when someone is buying a car or a house because they usually have to pay a down payment (unless they’re buying it with cash, of course).
When Alex couldn’t afford a down payment on the motorcycle, we gifted it to him on his birthday.
The realtor informed us that we’d have to pay 10% as a down payment.
Synonyms of down payment
A down payment is also sometimes referred to as a deposit. Other words with similar meanings include prepayment and installment, though there are some differences.
To prepay for something typically means that you are paying the full price upfront or paying for a service ahead of schedule, and an installment is usually one of a series of scheduled payments over a set period of time.
Some tax professionals advise that you prepay your bills.
I’m paying for my new air conditioning unit in monthly installments.
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