customer
Americannoun
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a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron.
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Informal. a person one has to deal with.
a tough customer; a cool customer.
noun
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a person who buys
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informal a person with whom one has dealings
a cool customer
Etymology
Origin of customer
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; custom + -er 1; compare Middle English customer “collector of customs,” from Anglo-French; Old French costumier, cognate with Medieval Latin custumārius; customary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Then those adjustments would be brought back to the product team and configured so that every customer could benefit from that innovation in the field.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026
The customer is addressing the “rapidly accelerating demand for high-speed fiberoptic communication links in hyperscale AI and cloud data centers,” according to Aehr.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
AI models typically need huge amounts of training data, and the competition for fresh material parallels the AI companies’ heated race to build their customer bases—the new core of the tech economy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
“Every customer is doing something a little different,” Daly said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
Lippmann faced the usual objections any Wall Street bond customer voiced to any Wall Street bond salesmen—If it’s such a great trade, why are you offering it to me?—but other, less usual ones, too.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
