pain point

noun

plural pain points

: a persistent or recurring problem (as with a product or service) that frequently inconveniences or annoys customers

When you're in an established market, you have an established customer; their needs and pain points are clearly laid out on your competitors' review sites.

—Billy Polson

Customer service, which has been a pain point of bigger banks for years, is also improving in that it's getting faster and requires little from you.

—Chris Welch

broadly : something that is a recurring source of trouble, annoyance, or distress

Meanwhile, ironing is a pain point with her boyfriend because she loves the look of a crisply pressed men's shirt. "He never irons his shirts and it drives me crazy," she [Elyse Moody] says.

—Jura Konicus

Examples of pain point in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

China’s struggling consumer sector has been a particular pain point for the economy with analysts and policy advisers calling for urgent measures to get households spending again. —Hassan Tayir, CNN, 16 Jan. 2025

Since the original Go's launch, Lenovo has spent plenty of time gathering feedback, addressing some pain points, and requesting features. —Matthew Buzzi, PCMAG, 7 Jan. 2025

Provider pain points: Issues such as hospital fees and out-of-network billing will be on the agenda as lawmakers seek to ease burdens on providers and patients. —Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 7 Jan. 2025

This is an inexpensive and fun way to find creative new ways to resolve the pain points your IT team experiences or sees within the organization. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above