installment

1 of 2

noun (1)

in·​stall·​ment in-ˈstȯl-mənt 

variants or less commonly instalment

1

: one of the parts into which a debt is divided when payment is made at intervals

2

a

: one of several parts (as of a publication) presented at intervals

b

: one part of a serial story

installment adjective

installment

2 of 2

noun (2)

variants or less commonly instalment

: installation sense 1

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• inaugural
• inauguration

Examples of installment in a Sentence

Noun (1)

attended the installment of the new university president

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The season-starting installment showed the duo arriving in London only to find a single living person remaining in the form of Stephen Merchant’s Julian. —Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025

Fans can look forward to a fourth installment coming sometime next year, after its third season dropped in April. —Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025

The Swedish payments group has become synonymous with the buy now, pay later (BNPL) model, which allows people to split purchases into interest-free installments. —Ryan Browne, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025

The series of specials, which earned raves and multiple Emmy Awards via three installments in May 2019, December 2019 and December 2021, haven’t been back since the death of icon Norman Lear in 2023. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

alteration of earlier estallment payment by installment, from estall to arrange payments by installment, from Anglo-French estaler, from estal station, stall, division of a stage, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German stal place, stall

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1776, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1589, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing installment

• installment plan

Rhymes for installment

• instalment

Kids Definition

installment

1 of 2 noun

in·​stall·​ment

variants also instalment

in-ˈstȯl-mənt 

: installation sense 1

installment

2 of 2 noun

variants also instalment

1

: one of the parts into which a debt is divided when payments are made over a period of time

2

: one of several parts (as of a publication) presented over a period of time

installment adjective

Legal Definition

installment

noun

in·​stall·​ment

: one of the parts into which a debt is divided when payment is made at intervals

installment adjective