- 1an amount of money that you pay once or regularly for an insurance policy a monthly premium of £6.25 Synonymspaymentpremium contribution subscription repayment deposit instalmentThese are all words for an amount of money that you pay or are expected to pay, or for the act of paying.payment an amount of money that you pay or are expected to pay; the act of paying:ten monthly payments of $50 payment in advancepremium an amount of money that you pay once or regularly for an insurance policy; an extra payment added to the basic rate; a higher amount of money than usual:an insurance premium a premium for express deliverycontribution a sum of money that you pay regularly to your employer or the government in order to pay for benefits such as health insurance, a pension, etc:You can increase your monthly contributions to the pension plan.subscription an amount of money you pay in advance to receive regular copies of a newspaper or magazine or to receive a service:a subscription to ‘Newsweek’repayment (British English) an amount of money that you pay regularly to a bank, etc. until you have returned all the money that you owe; the act of paying this money:the repayments on the loandeposit an amount of money that you pay as the first part of a larger payment:We’ve put down a 5% deposit on the house.instalment one of a number of payments that you make regularly over a period of time until you have paid for something:We paid for the car by/in instalments.Patterns (a/an) annual/monthly/regular payment/premium/contributions/subscription/repayment/deposit/instalment payment/repayment in full to pay a(n) premium/contribution/subscription/deposit/instalment to make a payment/repayment/deposit to meet/keep up (with) (the) payment(s)/the premiums/(the) repayment(s)/the instalments Wordfinderinsuranceactuary, annuity, cover, excess, insurance, no-claims bonus, policy, premium, risk, underwrite Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveannual, monthly, regular, … verb + premiumpay, afford, keep up, … premium + verbgo up, increase, rise, … premium + nounpayment, rate, increase, … prepositionpremium for, premium on See full entry
- 2an extra payment added to the basic rate You have to pay a high premium for express delivery. A premium of 10% is paid out after 20 years. He was willing to pay a premium for a house near the sea. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivehefty, high, small, … verb + premiumpay, charge, place, … prepositionat a premium, premium of, premium on, … See full entry Word Originearly 17th cent. (in the sense ‘reward, prize’): from Latin praemium ‘booty, reward’, from prae ‘before’ + emere ‘buy, take’.Extra examples Good hotels are at a premium= difficult to obtain and therefore expensive. Good student accommodation is at a premium. Intense competition has kept premiums low. My insurance premiums increase each year. Premiums on many cars will go up this year. The additional premium costs $1 800 a year. The company is charging a pretty hefty premium for access to their network. The company places a high premium on customer loyalty. The insurance company has increased our premiums. There’s a risk premium of probably $10 a barrel built into oil prices. We’re struggling to keep up our premiums. bought at a premium of 40 per cent above the current market price equity risk premiums the premiums for your pension plan the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance premiums A premium of 10% is paid out after 20 years. Daytime calls are charged at premium rate. He was willing to pay a premium for a house on the waterfront. We pay a monthly premium of £6.25 for home contents insurance.Idioms
- 1if something is at a premium, there is little of it available and it is difficult to get Space is at a premium in a one-bedroomed apartment.
- 2at a higher than normal price Shares are selling at a premium.
to think that somebody/something is particularly important or valuable The company places a high premium on initiative.
Check pronunciation: premium
