pain point

noun

plural pain points

: a persistent or recurring problem (as with a product or service) that frequently inconveniences or annoys customers

When you're in an established market, you have an established customer; their needs and pain points are clearly laid out on your competitors' review sites.

—Billy Polson

Customer service, which has been a pain point of bigger banks for years, is also improving in that it's getting faster and requires little from you.

—Chris Welch

broadly : something that is a recurring source of trouble, annoyance, or distress

One generation's parenting gospel often becomes another's pain point.

—Lynda Lin Grigsby

Meanwhile, ironing is a pain point with her boyfriend because she loves the look of a crisply pressed men's shirt. "He never irons his shirts and it drives me crazy," she [Elyse Moody] says.

—Jura Konicus

Examples of pain point in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For Tallman, the pain point was texture and how pigmented makeup can accentuate it. — Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2026

Prospective buyers are being more selective, asking tougher questions and looking for partners that solve all of their pain points rather than single-solution service providers. — Jodi Amendola, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Lowering the path of budget deficits would likely help with interest rates, but there could be political pain points in the form of spending cuts and tax hikes. — Josh Boak, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026

Could the Bengals’ defense, a pain point for this club for the last couple seasons, get upgrades to match the offensive firepower Zac Taylor’s team possesses? — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pain point

• adjoint
• anoint
• appoint
• checkpoint
• conjoint
• disjoint
• endpoint
• gunpoint
• midpoint
• nonpoint
• pinpoint
• standpoint