Basic Details
Word: Customer
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A person who buys goods or services from a shop, business or seller.
Synonyms: buyer, shopper, client, patron
Antonyms: seller, vendor
How to Spell Customer
Syllables: cus - to - mer
Tricky part: The middle vowel is o, but because it is unstressed many students write custamer or custumer. The ending is er.
Watch out for: custamer, custumer, customar
Memory tip: Find the word custom inside customer and add er. A customer is someone in the custom, the habit, of buying from you.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The tea stall owner knows every regular customer by name.
Example 2: A customer at the bank asked for a new cheque book.
Example 3: During the sale, the shop was packed with customers from morning till night.
Fun Fact
In business English a client usually buys services, such as advice from a lawyer, while a customer more often buys goods from a shop.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The shopkeeper smiled at every custamer who walked in, even on the hottest afternoons of May when the market was almost empty.
a) afternoons
b) shopkeeper
c) market
d) custamer
Show answer
d) custamer. Spot custom inside it: custom plus er, so the middle letter must be o.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. reciept 2. purchace 3. discaunt 4. customer
a) to buy something
b) a paper showing what was paid
c) a cut in the usual price
d) a person who buys from a shop
Show answer
d) a person who buys from a shop. Receipt puts e before i after c, purchase ends in ase and discount has ou.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word customer as used in the sentence:
The shop gives every regular customer a small gift at Diwali.
a) seller
b) owner
c) supplier
d) buyer
Show answer
d) buyer. The one who pays for the goods is the buyer, while the other three are on the shop's side.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which person is a customer?
a) the driver delivering flour
b) a girl buying bread at a bakery
c) the cashier counting the change
d) the baker kneading the dough
Show answer
b) a girl buying bread at a bakery
2. A customer care desk is there to ____.
a) help buyers with problems
b) stack goods on shelves
c) train new delivery staff
d) count the shop's money
Show answer
a) help buyers with problems
