someone who buys goods or services from a business or person
The coffee shop gave every customer a free cookie with their drink.
The mechanic explained the repairs to the waiting customer.
✦ From Middle English ‘custumer’, from Anglo-Norman custumer, from Old French coustumier (“customs officer”), from Latin consuētūdō (“custom”). Meaning shifted from ‘tax collector’ to ‘person who pays money’ by the 15th century.
a person described by a particular quality, especially someone difficult, tough, or unusual
The goalkeeper is a tough customer for any striker to beat.
You don't want to anger her; she's a fierce customer when provoked.
✦ Extension of the main sense ‘person who pays money’ to mean ‘person one has to deal with’, then generalized to any person of a certain kind.
