client
Americannoun
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clients
plural
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a person or group that uses the professional advice or services of a lawyer, accountant, advertising agency, architect, etc.
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a person who is receiving the benefits, services, etc., of a social welfare agency, a government bureau, etc.
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a customer.
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anyone under the patronage of another; a dependent.
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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.
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(in ancient Rome) a plebeian who lived under the patronage of a patrician.
adjective
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being a regular customer.
a client company.
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economically, and often militarily, dependent upon a more prosperous, more powerful nation.
noun
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a person, company, etc, that seeks the advice of a professional man or woman
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a customer
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a person who is registered with or receiving services or financial aid from a welfare agency
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computing a program or work station that requests data or information from a server
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a person depending on another's patronage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing client
Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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The Lemonade War
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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.
See Examples For:
Ahead of his extradition to Germany, his lawyer here in Italy told me his client had felt "abandoned".
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
William’s attorney, David E. Libman, said his client and O’Malley had maintained different versions of how the incident unfolded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
"I think social media has been hugely impactful," he said, adding his client list ranged from small cafes to luxury hotels.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Many advisory firms have a particular kind of client they serve—be it “high net worth” or company founders or some other niche.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
We talked for an hour before I had to see another client.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Firmus builds and operates liquid-cooled data centres, or what it calls "AI factories", for clients including OpenAI and Meta.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Advisers often recommend that these clients purchase annuities, which are insurance products that are complicated, hard to compare and have high commissions.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The worldwide “bond bear market” in 2026 is largely a response to changing central-bank policy, strategists at brokerage Bank of America Global Research said in a note to clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Markets are volatile, which is good for banks’ businesses facilitating trades on behalf of clients, and the AI boom demands seemingly endless new financing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
I would arrive in court, and there would always be a stack of cases, and clients with lawyers gathered in an overcrowded courtroom, all waiting to be heard at the time of our hearings.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
