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

But with growth, some of the main pain points are traffic and infrastructure, according to Cline. —John Marks, Charlotte Observer, 26 Mar. 2026

The poll indicates that women are particularly likely to see wages as a pain point. —Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2026

There are definitely so many pain points in investing in private equity. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 24 Mar. 2026

Oppo is here to resolve this pain point. —Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 17 Mar. 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