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

“Until California adopts comprehensive wildfire reforms to provide long-term certainty for customers, wildfire victims and utilities, the Legislature should not advance policies that increase regulatory uncertainty and customer costs,” PG&E spokesperson Jennifer Robison said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

It is not the first time the site has faced criticism over its security efforts and customer service.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

The partnership also helps Nvidia extend its rack-scale ecosystem into the growing custom-silicon market through MediaTek’s design expertise and customer base, creating new growth opportunities for both companies, Kuo adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Dorfman, Greenbaum and Morris met with Bilt’s executives, who explained how they were fixing the problems and supplied data to the bureau about the company’s customer communications and efforts to resolve problems.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

And one morning soon afterward the first customer in the shop was a small thin-bearded man named Smit.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

"We're very pleased the Court rejected the DOJ's proposal to break apart tools that help small businesses reach new customers and grow," Google's vice president of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

They want to wow customers with their decor, high-end finishes, and impressive food and drinks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

“Until California adopts comprehensive wildfire reforms to provide long-term certainty for customers, wildfire victims and utilities, the Legislature should not advance policies that increase regulatory uncertainty and customer costs,” PG&E spokesperson Jennifer Robison said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

In the 20 minutes that Which? permitted customers to request a stay at its fake 10 Downing Street property, it said 14 people asked to do so.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Then our eyes skittered to the other counters, where customers were freely trying on jewelry and gloves.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• client
• consumer
• patron
• purchaser