quid

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableslang

   A British word for a pound in money.

   Grammar: The plural stays the same after a number: ten quid, not ten quids.

   Patterns

   • a few quid
   • ten quid

   That sandwich cost me five quid.

   Can you lend me twenty quid until Friday?

   A decent haircut here is about fifteen quid.

2. 2nouncountableold-fashioned

   A small lump of tobacco for chewing.

   Grammar: Countable and old-fashioned: a quid of tobacco.

   Patterns

   • a quid of tobacco

   The sailor tucked a quid of tobacco into his cheek.

   He spat out the quid and wiped his chin.

   Old photographs show miners with a quid in their mouths.

Word forms

Common combinations

a few quid

I earned a few quid walking the neighbor's dog.

quid pro quo

The favor was a quid pro quo for earlier help.

ten quid

The old record sold for ten quid.

quids in

If the deal works out, we'll be quids in.

not a quid

He hasn't got a quid to his name.

Synonyms and how they differ

pound

Pound is the standard, formal word, whereas quid is casual speech.

nicker

Nicker is an older, more slangy way of saying a pound, used less than quid today.

buck

Buck is the American informal word for a dollar, so it is the US counterpart rather than a British synonym.

Word family

quids noun

used only in the phrase quids in, meaning in profit

quid pro quo noun

something given in exchange for something else

Commonly confused: quid or quit? quid or squid?

Practice

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