client

American  

[klahy-uhnt] / ˈklaɪ ənt /

noun

• clients
  plural

1. a person or group that uses the professional advice or services of a lawyer, accountant, advertising agency, architect, etc.

2. a person who is receiving the benefits, services, etc., of a social welfare agency, a government bureau, etc.

3. a customer.

4. anyone under the patronage of another; a dependent.

5. Computers. a computer or an application on a computer that communicates with a remote server.

   Exit the program before installing the patch to update the client.

6. client state.

7. (in ancient Rome) a plebeian who lived under the patronage of a patrician.

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adjective

1. being a regular customer.

   a client company.

2. economically, and often militarily, dependent upon a more prosperous, more powerful nation.

client British  

/ ˈklaɪənt, klaɪˈɛntəl /

noun

1. a person, company, etc, that seeks the advice of a professional man or woman

2. a customer

3. a person who is registered with or receiving services or financial aid from a welfare agency

4. computing a program or work station that requests data or information from a server

5. a person depending on another's patronage

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client Scientific  

/ klī′ənt /

1. A program that runs on a personal computer or workstation connected to a computer network and requests information from a file server.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cliental
  adjective
• nonclient
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clients
  plural

Etymology

Origin of client

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin client-, stem of cliēns “person seeking the protection or influence of someone powerful”; perhaps akin to clīnāre “to bend” ( see incline)

Explanation

If you pay for something, you are a client. If you pay to get your dog groomed, you are a client of the dog groomer (and so is your pooch). If you shop at a certain store or use the services of a particular business, then you are a client of that store or business. If you want to go into acting, for example, you'll need to become a client of a talent agent. In computer terms, a client is a computer that makes a request of another computer, called a server. The term client is especially used in networks where one server may handle multiple requests from multiple clients.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

client clients

He's treated men of all ages - some in their mid-20s, while his oldest client is aged 72.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Audrey Kohout, the company’s co-CEO, says its core client is 65 years and older.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

So interesting, in fact, that All Terrain had the interns pitch those ideas directly to the client.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

In a video posted earlier this year, Avrial Barreto, a New York City-based client manager, says that being a personality hire simply means caring about others in the office.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

It was an elderly client, a woman living alone in a Garden District mansion, asking if Zeitoun’s crew could come over and board up her windows.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

She helps organize an effort to “deflock” Lowe’s, one of the company’s largest commercial clients.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

She handles intake for new clients, including those who are targeted by stalkers.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Many of his clients are what he calls middle-class millionaires—business owners and professionals who have between $1 million and $10 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Financial advisers say there’s been a recent uptick in the number of their clients asking about the stock market’s heavy reliance on just a few trading days with outsized returns.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Angola evolved over time to have some excellent programs for incarcerated people who stayed out of trouble, and many of our clients took full advantage.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• applicant
• buyer
• consumer
• patient
• patron
• shopper