customer
customer Lexical Profile
customer Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person or organization that buys goods or services from a store or business.
"The bakery offers a free pastry to every new customer who signs up for the newsletter."
(informal) A person or thing of a specified, often challenging or unusual nature with whom one has to deal.
"The veteran negotiator was known as a tough customer who rarely compromised during contract talks."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'customer' and 'client' both refer to someone who pays for goods or services, a 'customer' typically purchases retail goods or standardized services, whereas a 'client' engages ongoing, personalized professional services (such as from a lawyer, architect, or consultant).
• Rhymes for customer
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English custumer, borrowed from Anglo-Norman custumer and Old French coustumier, originally referring to a tax collector who gathered customary tolls before shifting in the 15th century to mean a regular buyer or patron.