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

The group also suspects consumers will ultimately pay the price for EA’s additional debt, as the gaming giant could continue to double down on in-game purchases — a pain point for some gamers — to help bolster company finances. —Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026

So that may be kind of the most acute pain point for travelers, but the summer storms are still going to be coming. —Dana Taylor, USA Today, 12 May 2026

Whether in jewelry or in watches, the pressure in terms of pricing and margins is a pain point, but Grangié also sees it as adding value to a creation. —Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 10 May 2026

Those allow golfers to get custom text or email alerts for times and courses of their choosing, a key pain point from their playing days. —Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 8 May 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