Customer Meaning
/ˈkʌs.tə.mə/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA habitual patron, regular purchaser, returning client; a person or company who has a custom of buying from a particular business.
nounA patron, a client; a person or company who purchases or receives a product or service from a business or merchant, or intends to do so.
Sentence Examples
The customer did not come.
The company went after its no. 1 customer complaint: power outages.
Administration costs are passed on to the customer.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The frustrated store ____ complained loudly about the defective product.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ did not come.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English custumer, from Old French coustumier, costumier (compare modern French coutumier), from Medieval Latin custumarius (“a toll-gatherer, tax-collector”, noun), from custumarius (“pertaining to custom or customs”, adjective), from custuma (“custom, tax”). More at custom. By surface analysis, custom + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Pug could just see Slote's pale face under his fur hat. "I don't agree with you on that. He's a pretty tough customer, Hopkins.""
— 1971, Herman Wouk, chapter 52, in The Winds of War:
"This switch led to Philip Hammond becoming the Transport Secretary and he quickly proved to be a tricky customer, asking questions about rail spending and reining it back whenever possible."
— 2020 January 2, Philip Haigh, “Ten eventful years and plenty of talking points”, in Rail, page 54:
"The Customer should come and visit them."
— 1615, Sir T. Roe, Hak. Soc. i. 44:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The frustrated store ____ complained loudly about the defective product.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ did not come.