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.
It's useful to think about what will remain strong sources of differentiation: ownership of physical resources; large social networks; proprietary data; high customer switching costs; strong distribution channels; intellectual property; talent.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
The recall of the wipes — Target brand Up & Up Fragrance Free and Cucumber Scented Baby Wipes — came after Target and the manufacturer, Sapro Temizlik Urunleri, received numerous customer complaints of “product discoloration.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
It added that Nintendo's statements on the problem were "patchy", and as a result many customers simply bought new controllers, instead of pursuing a free fix or replacement via customer service.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
It’s a shift for an industry that has been notoriously slow in adapting to a culture of customer convenience.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 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
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.
