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 pain points are well-taken. —Torie Bosch, STAT, 11 Apr. 2026

More broadly, Whitcomb said, credit card swipe fees are a pain point. —Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 9 Apr. 2026

Another famous example is Tide Pods, which solved several consumer pain points at once, according to Nik Modi, analyst at RBC Capital Markets. —Paulina Likos, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2026

Slow starts, Karl-Anthony Towns’ inconsistent offensive involvement and disjointedness on both ends of the floor have been pain points for this Knicks team all season under new head coach Mike Brown. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 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