customer

American  

[kuhs-tuh-mer] / ˈkʌs tə mər /

noun

• customers
  plural

1. a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron.

2. Informal. a person one has to deal with.

   a tough customer; a cool customer.

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customer British  

/ ˈkʌstəmə /

noun

1. a person who buys

2. informal a person with whom one has dealings

   a cool customer

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customer Idioms  

1. see ugly customer.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• customers
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

customer customers

Therefore, the company now “has materially more earnings power” compared to its share-repurchasing plans, while it also has better visibility into customer demand through its new long-term agreements.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

And when the festivities ended, one Aubuchon customer, a woman who had recently lost her own cat, arranged to take home something very special.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

The customer seemed irritated that the answer required any effort on her part.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

The company told its customers that hackers are in possession of detailed profiles of potentially millions of the company's users - including names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, customer numbers and dates of birth.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

I left the kitchen and found Gabe up front, ringing up a customer.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks

A spokesperson for Delta told The Times in an emailed statement, “Delta has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

All affected customers were provided with accommodation and were rebooked on alternative flights within 48 hours of their original departure, the carrier said.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

In Philadelphia, a $5 billion shipyard project needs more space for shipbuilding, and has challenges attracting more customers beyond its owner, Korean company Hanwha Shipping.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Broadcom also has a major opportunity later this decade with customers like OpenAI and Anthropic.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

According to the internet, this means understanding who your customers are and why they need your business.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• client
• consumer
• patron
• purchaser