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

Europe is a pain point thanks to local consumer fatigue, a contraction in Middle Eastern tourism caused by the war — the Gulf consumer base contracted 15% to 25% in Q1 2026 — and reduced US tourism due to a strong euro, reducing pricing advantages in travel shopping. — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 25 June 2026

Now, with decades of product development experience, her approach to T3’s tools, including innovations like the Aire 360, is about hair health and addressing pain points for customers. — Lydia T. Blanco, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

The highest pump prices in the country have been a pain point for Newsom, who is expected to make a bid for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination and has softened his once-hostile approach to the state’s dwindling fuel-making industry. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 23 June 2026

But even as adoption rises, operational pain points persist. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 17 June 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