clientele
Americannoun
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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- ( client ) + -ēla collective noun suffix; clientele ( def. 1 ) probably < French clientèle < Latin
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.
“These defendants allegedly fabricated documents, staged bogus equipment to pass audit inventories, and used a pass-through company to conceal their misconduct and true clientele list,” federal prosecutors said.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
He learned, for example, to place new locations in middle-class neighborhoods, but right on the border of lower-income ones; the real estate was cheaper, and you doubled your clientele.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
She would know: 80 to 90 percent of their clientele is from the United States.
From Slate • Feb. 1, 2026
But he was especially demoralized the other day after scouring for bargains at the sprawling Coche Market, which serves a mostly working-class clientele on the southern fringes of this chaotic capital.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
“Got to keep up good references, moving around to different clientele like you do.”
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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.
