What does client mean?
A client is a person or organization that engages the professional services or advice of another — a lawyer's client, an advertising agency's client, a bank's client. The word implies an ongoing relationship built on trust and expertise rather than a single transaction, which is why professionals often prefer it over the more transactional "customer." The term also has a well-established technical meaning: in computing, a client is any program or device that requests data or services from a server, as in a web browser acting as a client to a website. Historically, the word descends from the Latin cliens, meaning a dependent or follower who placed himself under the protection of a powerful patron in ancient Rome — a social bond of loyalty and obligation that faintly survives in the modern professional relationship. Today, "client" appears constantly in business, law, technology, and public-services language, making it one of the most useful words for describing how expertise and service are exchanged in modern life.
nounA person or organization that uses the services or advice of a professional person, company, or institution. More broadly, any computer or program that requests services or data from a server.
- A person or organization that uses the professional services or advice of another (e.g., of a lawyer, accountant, agency).
- A customer of a shop, hotel, or similar business, especially a regular one (somewhat formal or dated in this sense).
- In computing, a program or device that requests services or resources from a server.
"The lawyer met with her client to review the terms of the settlement."
"The architect presented her initial sketches to the client for feedback."
"The email client failed to sync with the server overnight."
The plural is regular. "Clients" commonly refers collectively to a firm's entire book of business, as in "the firm serves over two hundred clients."
"The agency lost several major clients after the merger."
The word 'client' traces back to ancient Rome, where a cliens was a dependent who owed loyalty to a powerful patron — a relationship that still echoes in every lawyer-client meeting today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of client
The word "client" comes from the Latin cliens (stem client-), meaning a dependent, follower, or retainer — someone under the protection and obligation of a patron in ancient Roman society. It entered English via Old French in the late Middle Ages, initially retaining the sense of a dependent or tenant, before shifting toward its modern meaning of someone who employs or consults a professional. Related forms include "clientele," meaning the collective body of clients, which preserves the Latin-derived suffix -ele.
How client is actually used
"Client" carries a slightly more formal, professional register than "customer" and implies an ongoing advisory relationship rather than a simple transaction. In British English it is also used for social-welfare contexts (a "client" of a social services agency), where American English may prefer "beneficiary" or "case."
Easily confused with client
A customer typically buys goods or standard services in a one-off or transactional relationship, while a client engages an ongoing professional service such as legal, financial, or design work.
A patron supports or frequents an establishment such as a restaurant, theater, or artist, whereas a client receives professional services or advice.