Definition of CLIENTELE (original) (raw)

: a body of clients

a shop that caters to an exclusive clientele

Examples of clientele in a Sentence

… Gottfried had been complaining for months that our local clientele didn't have the class to appreciate the house. —Jane Smiley, Good Faith, 2003 The lunchtime clientele at TJ's was polymorphous as usual, as at District Court, though there was a higher percentage of respectable clients here—local business folk having lunch at one of the last downtown bars that served decent food but wasn't fancy. —Tracy Kidder, Home Town, 1999 The collections shown last month not only had plenty of clothes for the couture clientele to choose from, but, even more importantly, they were loaded with multiple messages for the fashion community at large. —Carrie Donovan, New York Times Magazine, 21 Feb. 1988 According to the State Department in-jokes, this was the most exclusive place in Washington. For its clientele was made up almost entirely of CIA and KGB agents watching one another watching other people. —Erich Segal, The Class, (1985) 1986

The restaurant generally attracts an older clientele.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Expertise Garners Success Because of Ms. Kassab’s expertise and transformative ideals, My Upstate Home LLC has garnered a loyal clientele and has closed high-value deals. —Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2025 From a business and financial point of view, losing clientele to DeepSeek should be investigated systematically with a view to understanding user needs, and scapegoating will never help this process. —Mohammad Hosseini, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2025 But Rezvani markets the Vengeance to a very specific type of clientele: ultra-high-net-worth types, celebrities, and those who feel an acute need for personal protection; think diplomats in volatile regions where the risk of kidnapping is real. —New Atlas, 28 Jan. 2025 Matharu opened his store at 40 Savile Row in 2022 and brought a younger, more diverse clientele to the area. —Denny Lee, Travel + Leisure, 26 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for clientele

Word History

Etymology

French clientèle, from Latin clientela, from client-, cliens — see client

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of clientele was in 1570

Dictionary Entries Near clientele

Cite this Entry

“Clientele.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clientele. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on clientele

Last Updated: 10 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences

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