squares

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of square.

   The quilt was sewn together from dozens of fabric squares.

   European cities often arrange their cafés around public squares.

   Note

   The plural carries the noun's countable meanings: the cells of a grid, square pieces cut from cloth or board, and, in the US and Canada, a pan of dessert cut into rectangular servings. Newspapers reckoned advertisement prices in squares, blocks of lines nearly square in shape. The same spelling also serves the verb's present tense. A determiner in front (the squares, three squares) marks the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of square.

   The accountant squares the books at the close of each quarter.

   A skilled carpenter squares each joint before driving in a single nail.

   Note

   Here the -s marks agreement with he, she, it or a singular noun, while I, you, we and they take bare square. The verb behind it ranges widely: a carpenter squares a joint, a sailor squares the yards to the mast, a rower squares the oars, and a mathematician squares a number. Used without an object, it means to fit or agree, as when a story squares with the facts.

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