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

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

Although auto loan rates are fixed for the life of the loan, ballooning payments have become another pain point for consumers. —Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2025

Understand each team’s priorities and pain points as early on as possible. —Julia Korn, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025

One such captive manager is Intuitive Captive Solutions, founded by Rick Eldridge, who not only acknowledges the pain points but is transforming them. —Jason Phillips, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025

With oil prices falling, electricity prices have emerged as the key energy pain point for families and the target for aggressive energy policy. —Terry Jarrett, Boston Herald, 28 Aug. 2025

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