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

• exchange

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

Hong Kong — Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15% of their revenues from semiconductor sales to China in exchange for export licenses, an unprecedented quid pro quo arrangement aimed at solidifying America’s AI business dominance while maintaining trade ties with China. —Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2025

Various surgeons and pundits have publicly offered theories: that there’s a generational shift now that millennials and Gen Z have grown up in the era of Botox and fillers; that social media has pushed users toward confessional frankness; or that the publicity is quid pro quo. —James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2025

In May, Warren opened a bribery investigation into Paramount’s actions to probe if its settlement with Trump could be viewed as a quid pro quo arrangement to influence the president to approve their pending merger with Skydance. —Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025

Bove was accused of pushing a quid pro quo in which the Justice Department would drop its criminal case against Adams in return for the mayor supporting Mr. Trump's immigration policies. —July 11, CBS News, 11 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, something for something

First Known Use

1532, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quid pro quo

• afterglow
• akimbo
• albino
• aliquot
• allegro
• amigo
• apropos
• audio
• bungalow
• calico
• calypso
• cameo

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Legal Definition

quid pro quo

noun

ˌkwid-ˌprō-ˈkwō 

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

Etymology

New Latin, something for something