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

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

Examples of customer in a Sentence

She is one of our best customers.

She's a pretty cool customer.

Recent Examples on the Web

Coinbase states that no passwords or private keys were compromised, but there were issues with accessing customer funds. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025

Power was expected to be restored by about 4 p.m. to the several hundred customers without electricity in Mecklenburg County. —Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 17 May 2025

But in a time when Amazon customers can track their packages second-by-second, the inspector general warned that continued mail delays may prompt postal customers to seek alternatives, further exacerbating the financial challenges. —Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 17 May 2025

Power outages caused by the storms hit more than 400,000 customers from Michigan to Kentucky on Saturday, according to PowerOutage.us. —Isabella Kwai, New York Times, 17 May 2025

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