Deposit: Money Put Down, and Material Laid Down
A deposit is money placed with a bank or paid in advance. In geology it is a layer of material laid down over time, and both senses mean something set down.
Deposit means to put down and leave. Money in a bank, a payment held as security, silt on a river bed and minerals in rock are all deposits, because in each case something has been set down and stays there.
- Money placed in a bank. *A deposit of five hundred pounds.*
- An advance payment. *Pay a deposit to hold the booking.*
- A natural layer or accumulation. *Rich copper deposits.*
- To place or lay down (verb). *The river deposits silt each spring.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | deposit | A returnable deposit. |
| Verb | deposit | Deposit the cheque. |
| Person | depositor | Protection for depositors. |
| Noun | deposition | Deposition of sediment. |
| Related | depot | A bus depot. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The deposit is refundable on return of the keys.Held as security against damage.
- Sediment is deposited where the current slows.Geology — the passive is the usual form.
- He lost his deposit at the election.In Britain, candidates below five per cent forfeit the sum they paid to stand.
Kinds of deposit
- Bank deposit — money placed for safekeeping and interest
- Security deposit — held against damage or non-payment
- Deposit on a purchase — part payment reserving the item
- Mineral deposit — a concentration worth extracting
- Electoral deposit — a sum paid to stand for election, returned only above a threshold
From Latin *depositum*, something laid down, from *deponere*, from *de* and *ponere*, to put. The same *ponere* runs through compose, oppose, position and postpone — a whole vocabulary of putting.
Deposit or down payment?
British English says deposit for an advance payment on a house. American English says down payment, keeping deposit mainly for banking.
Is a deposit always refundable?
No. A security deposit usually is, subject to conditions; a deposit on a purchase is often not if you withdraw.