clientele
Americannoun
-
the clients or customers, as of a professional person or shop, considered collectively; a group or body of clients.
This jewelry store has a wealthy clientele.
-
dependents or followers.
noun
Etymology
Origin of clientele
1555–65; < Latin clientēla, equivalent to client- ( see client) + -ēla collective noun suffix; clientele ( def. 1 ) probably < French clientèle < Latin
Explanation
Your customers are your clientele. If you own a pet food store, your clientele might be two-footed and four-pawed. The noun clientele is often preceded by an adjective to describe the exact type of customer. Little boutiques in upscale neighborhoods probably cater to an exclusive clientele, while the kids' hair salon might have Barney on video to keep the young clientele motionless in their chairs. Regardless of business type, you are always trying to please the clientele.
Vocabulary lists containing clientele
Vocabulary from an excerpt from "Confessions of a 30-Year-Old Gamer," by Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates
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Six of Crows
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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.
The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., career coach’s clientele include people in midtier roles in tech, finance and elsewhere.
From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026
The purported investment group claimed its clientele included Bill Cosby and members of the Rockefeller family, according to published reports.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
The scans were carried out with radiographers from Burgess Diagnostics, who said exotic animals made up just 3% of their clientele, compared with dogs comprising 90%.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
But Darden’s scale and comparatively upscale clientele should give it a leg up.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Arguably the greatest social change that the speakeasies brought about was the way that so many of them welcomed both black and white clientele.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
