Meaning & use
initial payment
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Meanings
nouncountable
the first amount of money you pay for something, with more to be paid later.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or a plural — make an initial payment, pay two initial payments.
Patterns
- make an initial payment
- pay an initial payment of $500
- an initial payment on something
We paid an initial payment of $200 and the rest over six months.
The contract asks for an initial payment before any work starts.
She made the initial payment online and collected the car the same day.
nouncountablebusinessfinance
the first sum of money given to start a service or join a plan, before regular charges begin.
Grammar: Often followed by 'of' plus an amount, or 'on' plus the thing you are buying.
Patterns
- an initial payment of something
- an initial payment on something
- require an initial payment
New members pay an initial payment of $50, then $10 a month.
The gym waived the initial payment for the first hundred customers.
Word forms
| plural | initial payments |
|---|
Common combinations
- make an initial payment
- You need to make an initial payment before we order the materials.
- pay an initial payment
- They paid an initial payment of £300 to hold the flat.
- a small initial payment
- A small initial payment gets you started straight away.
- require an initial payment
- Some landlords require an initial payment of one month's rent.
- the initial payment is due
- The initial payment is due within seven days of signing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- down payment
- Very close in meaning, but 'down payment' is the usual word in American English for buying a house or car, while 'initial payment' sounds more neutral and formal.
- deposit
- A deposit is often money you pay to hold something or that you get back later; an initial payment is simply the first part of the full price.
- first installment
- Use this when the money is clearly split into numbered parts; 'initial payment' just stresses that it comes first.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: initial payment or installment? initial payment or deposit?
initial payment vs installment
An installment is one of several equal payments; an initial payment is only the first one, and it may be a different size from the others.
initial payment vs deposit
A deposit may be returned to you or used as security, but an initial payment counts toward the price and is not usually given back.
Practice
The apartment costs $900 a month, and the landlord asks for an initial payment of one month's rent. What does this mean?
Choose one answer.
'Initial' means happening first, so an initial payment is the money paid at the beginning, before you move in. Option 3 confuses it with a deposit you get back, and option 0 ignores the word 'initial'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “initial payment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.