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

Jason Melara’s attorney, Andrew Stein, asked the two murder charges be dismissed, telling Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe there was no evidence his client pointed a gun at Aguilar.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 11, 2026

Then, a client is encouraged to create art.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2026

Falana, who would not discuss the case itself, said Adeyemi had assured him he would appear for his trial, though Falana did not know where his client was.

From BBC • Jul. 11, 2026

For now, the AI boom “has mostly manifested through a surge in demand for computing capacity and infrastructure and a raging bull market in stocks,” Beamish’s team wrote in a Friday client note.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 10, 2026

So he tells me about another big potential client he might get, who’s a friend of the first big potential client.

From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead

Related Words

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