quid pro quo

noun

ˌkwid-ˌprō-ˈkwō 

: something given or received for something else

also : a deal arranging a quid pro quo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is quid pro quo legal?

Quid pro quo means "something given or received for something else." There is nothing inherently illegal in giving or receiving something in exchange for something else, but in legal contexts quid pro quo often refers to something that is in fact illegal, such as if a company gives a government official money in exchange for receiving a contract that rightly should be given to whatever company is best able to meet the requirements for the contract.

Is quid pro quo bribery?

One might say that every bribe is a case of quid pro quo, but not every quid pro quo is a case of bribery. A bribe is something (such as money or a favor) given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of someone, and while quid pro quo may to be used to describe this, it may also refer to something merely traded for something else.

What does quid pro quo have to do with medicine?

In current use, quid pro quo has little to do with medicine, but the Latin phrase it came from (which may be translated as "something for something") originated with apothecaries (people who prepare and sell drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes). In the 16th through the 18th centuries a quid pro quo often referred to the substitution of one medicine for another.

Synonyms

• back-and-forth
• barter
• commutation
• dicker
• exchange
• swap
• trade
• trade-off
• truck

Examples of quid pro quo in a Sentence

in politics nobody does something for nothing: there's always a quid pro quo involved

Recent Examples on the Web

While there’s a lot that could go wrong with a way forward that revels in policy surprises while also placing storied alliances on more quid pro quo footing, there are some crises that Mr. Trump could have a shot at moving in a productive direction, analysts say. —Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Nov. 2024

Through his spokesman, Embiid denied in the March report that there was an express quid pro quo. —Hunter Patterson, The Athletic, 31 July 2024

So a tidy quid pro quo is arranged: Emperor Titus will shut down the Gold faction in exchange for the other faction leaders’ support of his father’s deification in the Senate. —Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 18 July 2024

In a missive explaining his decision, the Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, explained that the shift was not the product of intimidation, of a conflict of interest, or of a dirty quid pro quo, but of the American public’s catastrophic lack of trust in journalists as a group. —The Editors, National Review, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, something for something

First Known Use

1532, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Legal Definition

quid pro quo

noun

ˌkwid-ˌprō-ˈkwō 

: something (as consideration) given or received for something else

Etymology

New Latin, something for something