quid

quid — noun

1. an informal British word for a pound (£) in money, used in everyday conversation

1.nounB1
Definition

an informal British word for a pound (£) in money, used in everyday conversation to talk about prices, costs, and amounts of cash a person has or needs.

Example

Yan paid thirty quid for that vintage jacket at the weekend market.

pay + [amount] + quid + for + something

Andrei asked if Sade could lend him a few quid until payday.

lend + someone + a few quid

Common collocations
  • ten quid
  • a few quid
  • fifty quid
  • a couple of quid
  • quid each
  • quid a go
  • pay [amount] quid
  • cost [amount] quid
Synonyms
  • pound

    the standard, neutral term; quid is the informal equivalent

  • pound sterling

    full formal name of the currency, rarely used in speech

Grammar Patterns

[number] + quid

a few / a couple of + quid

quid + per / for + something

Usage Note

The plural form is identical to the singular: write 'ten quid', never 'ten quids'. The verb stays singular too ('Ten quid is enough'). This word is very common in spoken British English but should be replaced with 'pound(s)' in formal or written contexts.

Common Mistakes

I paid twenty quids for this scarf.
I paid twenty quid for this scarf.
quid does not take an -s in the plural.
The train ticket costs five quid, sir.
The train ticket costs five pounds, sir.
use 'pounds' in formal or customer-service situations.

2. a small, firm lump of a substance made to be kept in the mouth and chewed on wit

2.nounC1
Definition

a small, firm lump of a substance made to be kept in the mouth and chewed on without being swallowed — most often chewing tobacco, associated with an older or rural habit of chewing rather than smoking it.

Example

The old cowboy took a large quid of tobacco and began to chew it slowly.

a quid of + tobacco

Kian watched his grandfather pack a fresh quid into his cheek before heading out to the fields.

pack a quid into one’s cheek

Common collocations
  • quid of tobacco
  • chew a quid
  • spit out a quid
  • pack a quid
  • fresh quid
Synonyms
  • wad

    a more general term for any lump of soft material, not limited to tobacco

  • plug

    a pressed block of chewing tobacco, sold as a commercial product

Grammar Patterns

a quid of + [chewable substance]

Usage Note

This sense is much less common than the money sense and is mainly found in older texts, historical descriptions, or stories set in rural American or maritime settings. In modern everyday speech, 'quid' almost exclusively refers to British money.

Common Mistakes

He put a quid of gum in his mouth.
He put a wad of gum in his mouth.
'quid' is not used for modern chewing gum; use 'wad' or 'piece' instead.
Idioms

not the full quid

idiom

Not very intelligent or mentally sharp.

Maya thought the new intern was not the full quid.

Is Brian not the full quid, or just lazy?

quids in

idiom

In a position of having made a profit, especially a good one.

After selling his old car, Tom was quids in.

If you invest wisely, you could be quids in.

Word family

  • quid pro quo
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These all refer to British money, but each carries a different tone. 'Pound' is the neutral, standard term for the currency unit (£1), suitable for any context from shopping to banking. 'Quid' is its informal, everyday counterpart — the word you use in a pub, not in a bank statement. 'Pound sterling' is the full official name of the currency, used in finance, currency exchange, and legal documents, never in casual chat. 'Fiver' and 'tenner' are informal slang for specific notes: a fiver is a five-pound note, and a tenner is a ten-pound note. So you might say 'It cost a tenner' (a £10 note) but 'It cost ten quid' (the amount £10, possibly in coins). 'Quid' can refer to any amount, while 'fiver' and 'tenner' are fixed to their note values.

quid ↗pound ↗pound sterlingfivertenner

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a couple of quid
  • a few quid
  • twenty quid
  • pay [amount] quid
  • cost [amount] quid
  • worth [amount] quid
  • quid pro quo

Prepositions

  • for [amount] quid
  • [amount] quid for [something]
  • [amount] quid on [something]
  • [amount] quid in my pocket

Etymology

LatinBritish EnglishModern English

The origin of 'quid' meaning 'a pound' is not known for certain, but the word first appeared in the late 17th century, possibly from Latin 'quid' meaning 'what' or 'something' (as in the phrase 'quid pro quo'). Another theory connects it to the older sense of 'quid' as 'a lump of something chewable', because a pound coin might have been thought of as a lump of silver. The chewing sense of 'quid' is older, traced to the 18th century, and refers to a piece of something you hold in your mouth to chew.