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View synonyms for quid pro quo

quid pro quo

[ kwid proh kwoh ]

noun

, plural quid pro quos, quids pro quo.
  1. something that is given or taken in return for something else.


quid pro quo

/ ˈkwɪd prəʊ ˈkwəʊ /

noun

  1. a reciprocal exchange
  2. something given in compensation, esp an advantage or object given in exchange for another


quid pro quo

  1. A fair exchange; the phrase is most frequently used in diplomacy: “The Chinese may make some concessions on trade, but they will no doubt demand a quid pro quo, so we must be prepared to make concessions too.” From Latin , meaning “something for something.”


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Word History and Origins

Origin of quid pro quo1

First recorded in 1555–65; Latin quid prō quō, literally, “what for what, something for something”; pro 1none, quiddity none, status quo

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Word History and Origins

Origin of quid pro quo1

C16: from Latin: something for something

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Idioms and Phrases

An equal exchange or substitution, as in I think it should be quid pro quo—you mow the lawn and I'll take you to the movies . This Latin expression, meaning “something for something,” has been used in English since the late 1500s.

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Example Sentences

“The U.S. is going to want to keep these as separate issues and not link them formally with a quid pro quo,” he said.

The Court has upheld limits on individual contributions to avoid quid pro quo corruption or the “appearance of corruption.”

The Budapest document makes sense historically only as a quid pro quo agreement resting upon American credibility to act.

The Supreme Court only accepts one justification for limiting political speech: quid pro quo corruption or the appearance thereof.

Fully 29 examples—almost five times the number of “quid pro quo” examples—were cases of “improper dependence.”

"I quite admit that; but you've always received a quid pro quo," the general snapped.

This quid pro quo went on for some five minutes before I discovered that here the secret police service is called "the railway."

He had bestowed himself without receiving the due quid pro quo.

As many symptoms are common to several diseases, I took not infrequently quid pro quo.

The ''cute trick' upon the honest farmer was capital, and a fair quid pro quo.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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