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 /

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

Golden alleges that “small-minded” small-town police “railroaded” her client due to his rise in local fame.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Ian Turkington KC represented Eleanor Donaldson during her trial of the facts, cross-examining witnesses and issuing closing remarks on behalf of his client towards the end of the trial.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Enviable client list, steady stream of cash from decades of legacy packaging deals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Whether an investment in SpaceX pays off “rests almost entirely” on the company making Starship fully reusable, Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said in a recent client note.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

“On the grounds that you’re prejudiced against my client because when she hacked the juvenile justice portal, she came across personal e-mails of yours that are embarrassing in nature.”

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Caleb Pepperday is a financial planner who works with clients who are largely between 30 and 50 years old and are physician assistants.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

The trove seen by the Journal also contains intelligence reports that appear to be based in part on stolen data, internal company chat logs and a company slide deck that appears aimed at prospective clients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Bolton added that protests outside Liverpool Town Hall during the publication of the report had also been "very difficult" for her clients to see.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

She said most of these clients had been laid off within the past couple of years, which changed their perspective.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Moments later we were inundated with a flood of calls from media, clients, families, and children’s rights advocates.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

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