noun. A payment plan in which a buyer reserves an article of merchandise by placing a deposit with the retailer until the balance is paid in full.

noun. An article reserved under such a plan.

noun. Things which have had a deposit placed on them and which the owner (generally a store) has agreed to hold for the customer and accept full payment at a later time.

noun. The system of accepting a deposit and holding for a customer to complete purchase.

verb. To place items on hold with a deposit at a merchant's.

"And business experts who track trends on Google say the number of searches for the term layaway has recently gone way up."