installment buying
1
3.1
- noun
- US
- By utilizing installment buying, she was able to acquire the latest smartphone without a large upfront payment.
Examples
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He chose installment buying for his new furniture to manage his budget more easily.
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Installment Buying (Twelfth-Grade Economics Class)
Academic text (2004) -
After the role-playing, the teacher discussed the positive side of installment buying and then the negative side, listing the advantages and disadvantages on the board.
Academic text (2004) -
Many consumers prefer installment buying because it allows them to spread the cost of expensive items over several months.
Synonyms
4
3.2
A way to pay by making small payments over time
1
4.4
A loan you repay in equal regular payments with interest that people often use to buy a car or furniture
1
5.3
A way to buy something by paying small amounts regularly
To pay for something by small regular payments over time instead of paying all at once
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'installment' (a scheduled partial payment) with 'buying' (the act of purchasing): it literally describes buying paid for in installments. This noun-noun composition is common cross-linguistically (e.g. compra a plazos) and follows standard English compounding patterns, so a learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Installment buying comes from the idea of paying for something in small parts over time. Here, installment means a 'small payment' and buying means 'getting something', so the phrase means 'to buy now and pay later in regular parts'.