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 company redesigned the insole to focus on 10 different pain points, from knees, hips, and lower back, carefully providing support for continuous comfort. —Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 8 Jan. 2026

While some public health provisions, such as mental health services, became more widespread nationwide, the report highlighted some familiar pain points that affect all Americans. —Tristan Bove, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026

One of the pain points that has thwarted textile-to-textile recycling at scale is the preponderance of elastane that’s blended into everything from denim to leggings. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 5 Jan. 2026

Health care costs are already a pain point in many people’s budgets. —Becca Stanek, TheWeek, 1 Jan. 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