What does fully amortizing mean in mortgage loans?

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Fully amortizing means you make regular payments that cover both interest and a portion of the principal, and by the end of the loan term the balance is zero. Each payment reduces the principal, so the loan is fully paid off at maturity. This is different from payments that are only interest in the early period, where the principal doesn’t shrink during that time; or from a balloon loan, where the smaller payments don’t fully pay off the loan and a large lump sum is due at the end; and from negative amortization, where payments are not enough to cover interest and the loan balance actually grows over time.