customer

noun

cus·​tom·​er ˈkə-stə-mər 

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

Synonyms of customer

• client
• patron
• guest

Examples of customer in a Sentence

She is one of our best customers.

She's a pretty cool customer.

Recent Examples on the Web

In her recommendation to reduce costs, Maeda suggested decreasing bimonthly water meter service charges for single-family utility customers by 25% and increasing the commodity per unit charge by 12% while maintaining the yearly rate of increase. —Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026

Its customer list focuses on tech startups and fast-growing companies, including Anthropic, Coinbase , TikTok, Robinhood , CrowdStrike , and DoorDash . —CNBC, 23 Jan. 2026

Brex’s customers chose the fintech specifically to avoid a bank. —Ron Shevlin, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

Thousands of Microsoft customers reported difficulty Thursday accessing the technology company's suite of Microsoft 365 services, including email platform Outlook, Teams and other tools. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English custumer, from custume — see custom entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing customer

• cool customer
• customer base
• paying customer
• regular customer

Kids Definition

customer

noun

cus·​tom·​er ˈkəs-tə-mər 

1

: one that buys a product or service

2

: individual entry 2 sense 2, fellow

he's a real tough customer

Legal Definition

customer

noun

cus·​to·​mer

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