customer

noun cus·tom·er \ ˈkə-stə-mər \

Definition of customer

1 :one that purchases a commodity or service

The customer used a credit card for the purchase.

2 :an individual usually having some specified distinctive trait

a real tough customer

… let me give you the advice of an old and world-weary customer.
—Flannery O'Connor

See customer defined for English-language learners

See customer defined for kids

Examples of customer in a Sentence

She is one of our best customers.
She's a pretty cool customer.

Recent Examples of customer from the Web

Lender spent the most in at least nine years on card rewards Profit falls 33% as expenses climb, revenue is little changed Wooing those affluent credit-card customers is getting expensive.

— jennifer surane, Bloomberg.com, "AmEx Starts Spending More on Reward Points to Retain Customers," 19 July 2017
Instacart is offering customers a free one-year subscription of Instacart Express, but that offer expires Friday.

— kelly poe, AL.com, "Instacart announces launch date for Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery," 19 July 2017
To show Mount Washington their appreciation, the store planned to give each customer a free doughnut Tuesday, according to Facebook.

— darcy costello, The Courier-Journal, "Bullitt County doughnut shop reopens, sells out, after owner shot last October," 18 July 2017
Without healthy customers subsidizing the sick, premiums and other costs would soar for plans that accept chronically ill patients, experts said.

— jay hancock, Kaiser Health News, "Analysis: Senate’s Latest Health Blueprint Cuts Costs At The Expense Of Chronically Ill," 17 July 2017
The Echo Look, Echo Show, Fire TV set, and Dash Wand have expanded its reach among Amazon customers, but the U11 represents a whole new game.

— michael simon, PCWorld, "How to use Alexa on HTC U11, no hands required," 17 July 2017
The law’s sponsors had hoped to achieve universal health insurance, but retreated from that ambitious goal in large part because insurers wanted to keep non-elderly customers.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "How ‘Neoliberalism’ Became The Left’s Favorite Insult Of Liberals," 16 July 2017
Additionally, one lucky customer will win free ice cream for life.

— mallorie sullivan, Cincinnati.com, "Here's where you can find free ice cream this weekend," 15 July 2017
In April, Walmart began offering a pickup discount on certain online-only items that customers can have shipped to a local store for pick up.

— hang nguyen, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Vista Walmart Supercenter completes remodel," 14 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'customer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of customer

Middle English custumer, from custume — see ¹custom

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

customer Synonyms

Synonyms

account, client, guest, patron, punter [chiefly British]

Related Words

consumer, end user, user; buyer, correspondent, purchaser, vendee; browser, prospect, shopper, window-shopper; bargainer, haggler; regular

Near Antonyms

broker, merchant, seller, vendor (also vender); shopkeeper, tradesman; black marketer (or black marketeer), fence

Other Business Terms

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

CUSTOMER Defined for English Language Learners

customer

noun

Definition of customer for English Language Learners

: someone who buys goods or services from a business
: a person who has a particular quality

CUSTOMER Defined for Kids

customer

noun cus·tom·er \ ˈkə-stə-mər \

Definition of customer for Students

:a person who buys from or uses the services of a company especially regularly

Law Dictionary

customer

noun cus·to·mer

legal Definition of customer

1 :a person or business that purchases a commodity or service

2 a :a person or entity having an account with a bank or on whose behalf the bank has agreed to collect items

b :a person or entity for whom an issuer issues a letter of credit

Learn More about customer

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for customer Spanish Central: Translation of customer Nglish: Translation of customer for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of customer for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about customer

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Examples of customer in a Sentence

Recent Examples of customer from the Web

Origin and Etymology of customer

customer Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Other Business Terms

Phrases Related to CUSTOMER

Related Phrases

CUSTOMER Defined for English Language Learners

customer

Definition of customer for English Language Learners

CUSTOMER Defined for Kids

customer

Definition of customer for Students

Law Dictionary

customer

legal Definition of customer

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