Word of the Day:

“For each proposal, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll have to negotiate with at least one faction, which usually involves some kind of quid pro quo. Maybe you agree to pass a policy they want next, or to advance research on a new technology of their choice.” — Deven McClure, Polygon, 24 Jan. 2026

More example sentences

In the 1500s, a quid pro quo was something obtained from an apothecary. That’s because when quid pro quo (New Latin for “something for something”) was first used as a phrase in English it appeared especially in situations where one medicine was substituted for another—whether intentionally (and sometimes fraudulently) or accidentally. The meaning of the phrase was quickly extended, however, and within several decades it was being used for more general equivalent exchanges, and as a noun for the act of substituting, or the substituted thing itself. By the mid-1600s the noun could be used for a bargain made between two parties involving the giving of one thing in return for another, e.g. “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” Although such bargains are not inherently illegal, this sense of quid pro quo often appears today in legal contexts where the giving and taking is less than completely lawful.