client

Everyday

1. A person who pays for help or advice from a professional, such as a lawyer, builder or hairdresser: the lawyer's client. tree →
2. A customer of a shop or business (formal). tree →
3. (computing) A program or computer that gets services or files from another computer called a server. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life and maths problems, a business has clients who pay for services: a dog walker with 5 clients, a hairdresser charging each client. In computing lessons a client asks a server for a web page. Phrases: a regular client, client list, client and server.

Examples

• The lawyer met her client in the office. tree →
• Mum's hairdressing business has 30 regular clients. tree →
• A dog walker charges each client 10 dollars, so 6 clients pay 60 dollars. tree →
• (formal) Clients are asked to arrive on time. tree →
• Your web browser is a client that asks the server for pages. tree →
• The builder showed the client the plans. tree →
• Counsel for the Wasps immediately insisted that this description fitted his clients exactly. tree →

Note

Countable. "Client" is used for services (lawyer, accountant); "customer" more for shops; "patient" for doctors. In maths, total income = number of clients x price each.