clientele

cli·en·tele

noun
\ˌklī-ən-ˈtel, ˌklē-ən- also ˌklē-ˌän-\

Definition of CLIENTELE

: a body of clients <a shop that caters to an exclusive clientele>

Examples of CLIENTELE

1. The restaurant generally attracts an older clientele.
2. … Gottfried had been complaining for months that our local clientele didn't have the class to appreciate the house. —Jane Smiley, Good Faith, 2003
3. The lunchtime clientele at TJ's was polymorphous as usual, as at District Court, though there was a higher percentage of respectable clients here—local business folk having lunch at one of the last downtown bars that served decent food but wasn't fancy. —Tracy Kidder, Home Town, 1999
4. The collections shown last month not only had plenty of clothes for the couture clientele to choose from, but, even more importantly, they were loaded with multiple messages for the fashion community at large. —Carrie Donovan, New York Times Magazine, 21 Feb. 1988
5. According to the State Department in-jokes, this was the most exclusive place in Washington. For its clientele was made up almost entirely of CIA and KGB agents watching one another watching other people. —Erich Segal, The Class, (1985) 1986

Origin of CLIENTELE

French clientèle, from Latin clientela, from client-, cliens (see client)

First Known Use: circa 1587

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

Rhymes with CLIENTELE

APL, Appenzell, aquarelle, asphodel, Azazel, bagatelle, barbicel, béchamel, brocatelle, Camberwell, caramel, caravel, carousel, cascabel, chanterelle, chaparral, Charles Martel, citadel, cockleshell, Cozumel, decibel, demoiselle, diving bell, fare-thee-well, fontanel, immortelle, Jezebel, killer cell, kiss-and-tell, lenticel, mangonel, muscatel, ne'er-do-well, Neuchâtel, Neufchâtel, New Rochelle, nonpareil, organelle, oversell, parallel, pedicel, pennoncel, personnel, petronel, Philomel, pimpernel, rebel yell, red blood cell, Sanctus bell, San Rafael, São Miguel, show-and-tell, sickle cell, silver bell, solar cell, tortoiseshell, undersell, villanelle, white blood cell, William Tell, zinfandel