Meaning of grease payment | Babel Free

Definitions

A bribe or extorted money, usually relatively small in amount, provided to a low-level government official or business person, in order to expedite a business decision, shipment, or other transaction, especially in a country where such payments are not unusual.

US, idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“Critics say there is no distinction between extortion and bribery, and that the distinction between a payoff (illegal) and a "grease" payment made to speed along normal duties (legal under the act) is unclear.”

“An important legal distinction is the difference between bribery and “grease payments,” which are paid in these countries not to affect someone’s decision-making but to speed the process of dealing with government.”

CEFR level