DictionaryAI

square

SaySKWAIR/skwɛɹ/UK/skwɛə//skweː/

Pluralsquares

Adjectivesquarer, squarest

Verbsquares, squaring, squared

52 meanings of square

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  1. 1
    geometric figurenouncountable
    A four-sided polygon with all sides of equal length and all four interior angles equal to right angles.

    A square has four lines of symmetry, more than any other rectangle.

    The proof shows that the diagonals of a square bisect each other at right angles.

    Note

    The figure the rest of the word grows from. Geometrically it is the one rectangle whose sides are all equal, and Kazimir Malevich's The Non-Objective World (1927) shows it becoming a painting's entire subject: a black square on a white field.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  2. 2
    area unitadjective
    Naming a unit of area equal to a particular unit of length multiplied by itself.

    The wildfire burned across thousands of square kilometers of forest.

    Office rent here is calculated per square foot.

    UsageWord order matters: sixteen square feet is an area, but four feet square is a square four feet on each side.

  3. 3
    plazanouncountable
    An open public space or park, often at the center of a town, not necessarily square in shape, with trees, seating, and other attractive features.

    Crowds gathered in the square to hear the mayor's announcement.

    The old market square is ringed by cafés and historic buildings.

    UsageUsually in the square: meet in the town square, the market square.

    Similarplaza, piazza

    Note

    Here the shape has fallen away. The name sticks to an open civic space whether or not its sides are equal, and town square is the everyday collocation. Joseph Addison already uses it of an Italian town in 1705, with a statue of Alexander the Seventh standing in the large square.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Joseph Addison's Remarks on Several Parts of Italy was published in 1705, as its first-edition title page confirms. archive.org
    • Addison uses square for a town's public space and describes a statue of Alexander VII standing there. en.wiktionary.org
  4. 4
    four-sidedadjective
    Having the form of a square, with four equal sides meeting at right angles.

    The architect designed a square courtyard at the heart of the building.

    The bathroom floor is covered in small square tiles, each two inches on a side.

  5. 5
    nouncountable
    A piece, part, or surface that has a square shape.

    She sewed a square of red fabric onto the knee of his jeans.

    Cut the brownies into even squares before serving.

    UsageOften a square of + material: a square of fabric, a square of chocolate.

  6. 6
    nouncountable
    A single cell within a grid, such as one of the spaces on a board or chart.

    The knight can only land on a square of the opposite color.

    Players advance one square at a time toward the finish.

    Similarspace, cell, box

  7. 7
    nouncountable
    The product of a number or quantity multiplied by itself, also called its second power.

    The square of seven is forty-nine.

    Engineers often work with the squares of measured values when calculating areas.

    UsagePattern: the square of a number (the square of five is twenty-five).

    Note

    Arithmetic borrowed the name from the geometric figure. 64 is the square of 8 because a square eight units on a side holds sixty-four unit squares. The square root runs the operation backward and recovers 8 from 64. For real numbers the result is never negative, so 8 and −8 share a single square.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • The mathematical name square derives from the geometric shape. en.wikipedia.org
    • 64 is the square of 8. openstax.org
    • A square with sides eight units long contains sixty-four unit squares. en.wikipedia.org
    • Taking the principal square root reverses squaring for nonnegative numbers, giving 8 from 64. openstax.org
    • Real squares are nonnegative, and 8 and −8 both have square 64. openstax.org
  8. 8
    verbtransitive
    To multiply a value, term, or expression by itself; to raise it to the second power.

    To find the variance, you square each deviation from the mean.

    The formula squares the radius before multiplying by pi.

    UsageRead aloud with squared: r squared, three squared is nine.

  9. 9
    face offverbintransitive
    To take up a boxing or fighting stance, typically with the particle up or off.

    The fighters squared off at the center of the ring.

    Drunk and angry, he tried to square up to a man twice his size.

    UsageMostly square up, square off, or square up to someone.

    Note

    In Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, Pip and his rival Drummle stand "well squared up" before an inn fire, neither willing to give way. Both phrasal forms stretch to confrontations where no punches are thrown, such as rivals facing each other in a debate or a contest.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations. gutenberg.org
    • Pip narrates that he and his rival Drummle stand before the fire at the Blue Boar inn, unwilling to yield; the exact phrase is “well squared up”. gutenberg.org
  10. 10
    at 90 degreesadjective
    At right angles, or set true with every corner a right angle and nothing leaning.

    Keep the blade square to the wood so your cut comes out clean.

    Make sure the edges are square so the box closes properly.

    UsageUsually square to or square with something: square to the wall. If not, it is out of square.

    Similarperpendicular, true

    Oppositecrooked, skewed, askew, slanted

    Note

    Perpendicular and orthogonal mean the same thing in the vocabulary of geometry. Square is the word people use when they are making something.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • In the right-angle sense discussed here, orthogonal means perpendicular. en.wiktionary.org
  11. 11
    broad and angularadjective
    Wide in relation to its height and angular rather than rounded in outline.

    Her square frame gave her a powerful, grounded presence.

    He was a short man with square shoulders and a thick neck, built like a wrestler.

    UsageTypical with body parts: a square jaw, square shoulders.

    Similarstocky, boxy, blocky, angular, chunky

    Oppositeslender, rounded

  12. 12
    resolveverbtransitive or intransitive
    To settle a matter, or to make two things agree, or to be consistent with something.

    He offered to pay for the broken window to square things with his neighbor.

    You should square things with your landlord before the dispute ends up in court.

    UsageWithout an object, square with means fit, often negative: doesn't square with the facts. With one: square things with someone.

    Similarsettle, resolve, fix, reconcile

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English square, from Old French esquarre (modern French équerre), from Vulgar Latin *exquadra, built from Latin ex- plus quadro, from quadrus. It is related to English quad and is a doublet of squad and squadra, and it displaced the Old English fēowerecge, meaning 'four-edged'.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

  • English square comes from Middle English square, borrowed from Old French esquarre. en.wiktionary.org
  • Modern French équerre descends from Old French esquarre. en.wiktionary.org
  • Old French esquarre comes from reconstructed Vulgar Latin *exquadra. en.wiktionary.org
  • The reconstructed Latin formation ultimately combines ex- and quadro, derived from quadrus. en.wiktionary.org
  • Square and English quad are etymologically related through the Latin family associated with four. en.wiktionary.org
  • Square is a doublet of squad and squadra. en.wiktionary.org
  • Square displaced Old English fēowerecge, meaning four-edged. en.wiktionary.org