deposit
• noun 1 a sum of money placed in a bank or other account. 2 a sum payable as a first instalment or as a pledge. 3 a returnable sum paid to cover possible loss or damage. 4 a layer or body of accumulated matter. 5 the action or an act of depositing. • verb (deposited, depositing) 1 put down in a specific place. 2 store or entrust with someone for safekeeping. 3 pay as a deposit. 4 (of a natural agency) lay down (matter) as a layer or covering. — PHRASES lose one’s deposit (of a candidate in a UK parliamentary election) receive less than a certain proportion of the votes (thereby forfeiting a statutory financial deposit). — DERIVATIVES depositor noun. — ORIGIN Latin depositum, from deponere ‘put down’.
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