Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
⏰ Punctual 💳 Paid in parts
on time

on time

3 2.7
Paid for by regular smaller payments instead of one payment
  • idiom
translation icon : a plazos
  • You are paying on time but need to move.
  • on-time payment
  • pay on time
  • bills paid on time

Examples

  • Taruga paid part and arranged to pay the balance on time.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Thanks to careful budgeting, she managed to pay her credit card bill on time every month.

  • - On time payments, you pay interest.

    Quicksilver (1986)

  • Is it about paying your bills on time, making sure you have enough retirement funds, investments, and insurance?

    Blog text (23)

  • All you have to do is make your payments on time, and the consolidation firm will handle everything else.

    Blog text (17)

  • They paid on time and appeared grateful to find a night worker.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I buy the house that I can most definitely afford and make my monthly payment on time every month. Will I get my interest rate and monthly payment reduced?

    Blog text (23)

  • Remember, over 90% of the American people who own homes have been paying their mortgages on time, as well as over 90% of the American people who are working?

    Blog text (23)

  • He always made sure to pay his rent on time to avoid any penalties.

  • The tenant was praised for consistently paying the lease on time, which helped build a good relationship with the landlord.

Synonyms

never-never
vson time
  • Archaic
1 8.8

To pay for something by small regular payments over time instead of paying all at once

is the same idea phrased as a purchase paid in installments
time plan
vson time
5.3

A way to buy something by paying small amounts regularly

applies to one purchase paid over time rather than a single payment

Antonyms

lump sum
  • Specialized
16 3.7

A single large payment that you get all at once instead of in smaller parts

Surface Forms

on time positive

Morphology

on + time

The sense 'paid for in regular installments' cannot be transparently derived from the literal meanings of 'on' (a preposition) and 'time' (a point or period); a B1 learner who knows the words would most likely interpret 'on time' as 'punctual' rather than a commercial/installment meaning. The installment meaning is specialized/idiomatic usage (e.g. 'buy on time' = buy on credit) and is not a predictable compositional extension, so learners will need exposure to learn it.

Etymology

On time used for buying things in parts may come from the idea of following a payment schedule: you pay at each planned time. So, buying on time means paying in regular 'installments' rather than all at once.