customer
Americannoun
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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
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.
Coupang told the BBC at the time that it was alerted to a breach involving 4,500 customer accounts in November and immediately reported it to the authorities.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
“It was one of the most expensive games we had,” but Jackson says the level of fan engagement and customer acquisition made it worthwhile.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
Masino survived by unceremoniously casting aside her original plans in the wake of a customer and social-media revolt and focusing back on the brand’s core customers, a maneuver many CEOs struggle to pull off.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
When Verizon says its customer service is getting so much better because of the use of AI, it’s reasonable to expect that software companies that help people in customer service could be under pressure.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
In the store, I prided myself on being able to talk up a customer until I figured out what they liked and what they didn’t know they needed.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
