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

See Examples For:

client clients

On a recent Saturday, workers inspected a production line bound for a client in Mexico.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“And that’s good because all the changes we made were in direct response to client feedback.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

However, that deposition was canceled after Cosby’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, insisted that her client was unable to appear in court because of his declining health.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

"Our people have firmly resolved that our nation will never again go back to the dark days of fascism and that Bangladesh will never be a client state," a foreign ministry statement said.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I don’t know what your client thought. I’m not him.”

From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone

I am one of thousands of clients who has had something flagged as a potential issue, then later found no further treatment was required.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

My socials are inundated with videos of enthusiastic clients filming themselves in scan machines, getting their bloods taken and testing their grip strength.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

“Overall, it still looks like a 2%-growth economy, with decent labor-productivity growth and lackluster labor-input growth,” Feroli said in a note to clients.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

Other clients include several airports, and Daktronics built the LAX Time Tower, a 72-foot, four-sided interactive digital media structure located in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Even though the clients sometimes wanted press attention, I was extremely resistant to media interviews about pending cases.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

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