“Quid” vs. “Pound”: What’s The Difference?

If you aren’t from the United Kingdom, you may be confused by the different words used to refer to money there, including pound and quid.

In this article, we’ll look at the monetary definitions of the words pound and quid, explain the different contexts in which they’re used, and give examples of how they’re used in everyday speech.

Is a quid a pound? What’s the difference between a quid and a pound?

In the context of money, the word pound is used to refer to a denomination of currency used in the United Kingdom. Known casually as the British pound and officially as the pound sterling, the pound is similar to the US dollar, both in value and in how its name is used.

Based on recent valuation, the pound is worth approximately 1.3 US dollars, but this ratio is highly dependent on fluctuating exchange rates. The pound is produced both in the form of paper bills and metal coins.

The word quid is an informal British slang term for a pound. It is used in much the same way as the slang word buck is used in the US to refer to a dollar. Like buck, quid is used generally to refer to an amount of money rather than a tangible (or transferable) item of currency, so one pound in the form of a paper note, coin, or electronic payment are all referred to as a quid. Unlike buck, the plural form of quid is just quid, as in Can you lend me 20 quid?

As a slang term for the pound, quid has been used since the late 1600s. Although there are many popular theories about how the word quid came to be used in relation to money, the origin of the term is uncertain.

Examples of quid and pound in a sentence

Let’s look at some examples of sentences that use pound and quid.

• I bought the book from a British website, so I had to pay for it in pounds.
• Nate borrowed 10 quid from Lily to buy lunch.
• She found an old pound coin in her backyard that turned out to be worth 100 quid.