prepayment

P3R1E1P3A1Y4M3E1N1T1
/ˌpɹiːˈpeɪ.mənt/

noun

A payment in advance.

OriginEnglish payment ← Middle English pre- ← Latin prae- →
Less commonScrabble 19
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Meanings

nounprepayment (plural prepayments)

plural prepayments · alternative pre-payment

  1. A payment in advance.
  2. accountingA cost paid in a fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the cost is recognized

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
buydown

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Englishpayment
  10. Englishprepayment

From pre- + payment.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 預付 /预付, 先付
  • 預付 /预付 (yùfù)payment in advance
  • 先付 (xiānfù)payment in advance
Finnish ennakkomaksu, ennakko
  • ennakkomaksupayment in advance
  • ennakkopayment in advance
  • ennakkomaksuA cost paid in a fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the cost is recognized
  • siirtosaaminenA cost paid in a fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the cost is recognized
French prépaiement
  • prépaiementpayment in advance
German Vorauszahlung
  • Vorauszahlungpayment in advance
Greek προκαταβολή, προπληρωμή
  • προκαταβολή (prokatavolí)payment in advance
  • προπληρωμή (propliromí)payment in advance
Irish réamhíocaíocht, íocaíocht roimh ré
  • réamhíocaíochtpayment in advance
  • íocaíocht roimh répayment in advance
Italian anticipo
  • anticipopayment in advance
Japanese 元払い
  • 元払い (motobarai)payment in advance
Norwegian Bokmål forhåndsbetaling
  • forhåndsbetalingpayment in advance
Polish przedpłata, przedpłata
  • przedpłatapayment in advance
  • przedpłataA cost paid in a fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the cost is recognized
Russian предопла́та, ава́нс
  • предопла́та (predopláta)payment in advance
  • ава́нс (aváns)payment in advance
Cite this entry
APA

prepayment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prepayment

MLA

“prepayment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prepayment. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prepayment,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prepayment.

Source: prepayment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.