customer
Americannoun
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customers
plural
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a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron.
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Informal. a person one has to deal with.
a tough customer; a cool customer.
noun
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a person who buys
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informal a person with whom one has dealings
a cool customer
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of customer
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; custom + -er 1; compare Middle English customer “collector of customs,” from Anglo-French; Old French costumier, cognate with Medieval Latin custumārius; see customary
Explanation
A customer is anyone paying for a good or service. Without customers, businesses would go out of business. When you're paying for just about anything, you're a customer. People shopping at the grocery store, sitting in coffee shops, going to movies, and buying DVDs online are all customers. The point of advertising is to drum up new customers for a business. There's a cliché that "The customer is always right," which is obviously not true, but shows how businesses try to make customers happy. They'd better. Without customers, any business is in deep trouble.
Vocabulary lists containing customer
Business, List 1
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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
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Unit 17, Lesson 2
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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:
A car sold to a customer brings in cash on delivery; a car Tesla keeps for its robotaxi service earns its money gradually, one ride at a time.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Nor is it loud and dry like that of a severely under-caffeinated customer who’s annoyed that the barista is holding up the line to chat with a regular.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
A publican has revealed his anguish at having to close down, saying he has been "crippled" by rising costs and a decline in customer drinking habits.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
That small decision — chips or no chips — moves the diner almost imperceptibly from guest to customer.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
She went off to deal with a distant customer, and Katz watched her go with something like paternal pride.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Keeping customers happy on a day-to-day basis in one restaurant is difficult on its own.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
In addition to winning customers in stores, the new portfolio and messaging efforts are designed in part to reassure a skeptical market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Google’s new Gemini agent can complete tasks across workplace apps, intensifying competition with OpenAI and Microsoft for business customers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
However, the court heard that test kits sent out to customers - sourced from Turkey - did not meet the required standards in the UK.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The signing line was down to the last few people, while the checkout area held only a few customers finishing their purchases, and bookstore people talking about getting the shelves back in order.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
