client
n. countablen. a person or company that pays for professional services from another person or business. You are a client when you hire a lawyer, an accountant, or a web designer.
n. a person or entity that engages the professional advice or services of another. In computing, it refers to a program or computer that connects to and requests data from a server.
The lawyer meets with her new client this morning.
Our agency works hard to maintain a good relationship with every client to ensure they return for future projects.
While the firm traditionally served local businesses, their latest client is a multinational corporation seeking specialized legal counsel for its European expansion.
From Middle English client, from Anglo-Norman clyent, Old French client, from Latin cliēns, akin to clinare (“to lean”).
Commonly takes the preposition 'of' when describing the relationship to a professional or firm.
the shop's clientsthe shop's customersUse 'client' for professional or long-term services (lawyers, architects) and 'customer' for retail or one-off purchases (shops, cafes).