status quo

American  

[kwoh] / kwoʊ /

noun

1. the existing state or condition.

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status quo British  

/ kwəʊ /

noun

1. the existing state of affairs

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status quo Cultural  

1. The existing order of things; present customs, practices, and power relations: “People with money are often content with the status quo.” From Latin, meaning “the state in which.”

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status quo Idioms  

1. The existing condition or state of affairs, as in We don't want to admit more singers to the chorus; we like the status quo. This term, Latin for “state in which,” has been used in English since the early 1800s.

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Etymology

Origin of status quo

First recorded in 1825–35, status quo is from Latin status quō literally, “state in which”

Example Sentences

Status quo defenders say the ultralow pay befits a citizen legislature.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

“When the status quo changed, it shifted the foundation assumptions. Suddenly, it was a choice. Status quo was to keep them out and the status quo is always easier.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2023

Status quo bias explains our reluctance to change.

From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2023

Status quo advocates often cast a rollback of name, image, and likeness rules as a handout to football and men’s basketball players, because the highest-profile sports would surely invite more money-making opportunities for players.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2021

There is one nouveau riche from New-York, who has been going about all over Germany, asking every body for the sculptor—he thinks his name was METTERNICH—whose most famous work was the Status quo!

From Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 by Various

Related Words

• state of affairs
• status