What does "square" mean?
A polygon with four straight sides of equal length and four right angles; an equilateral rectangle; a regular quadrilateral.
Square
/skwɛə/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A polygon with four straight sides of equal length and four right angles; an equilateral rectangle; a regular quadrilateral.
- Grammar: square is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: aboveboard, absolutely, accommodate, accord.
- Useful contrasts: circular, beveled, groovier.
- Usage evidence: St Mark's Square in Venice is always swarming with tourists in the summer.
How to use "square"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "square" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "square" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "square" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "square" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "square" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aboveboard" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "square", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A polygon with four straight sides of equal length and four right angles; an equilateral rectangle; a regular quadrilateral.
"I took refuge in the square form and exhibited a picture which consisted of nothing more than a black square on a white field."
- 2 a hand tool consisting of two straight arms at right angles; used to construct or test right angles wordnet
- 3 Something characterized by a square, or nearly square, form.; A cell in a grid.
"You may not move a piece to a square already occupied by one of your own pieces."
- 4 any artifact having a shape similar to a plane geometric figure with four equal sides and four right angles wordnet
- 5 Something characterized by a square, or nearly square, form.; A square piece, part, or surface.
"a square of glass"
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- 6 an open area at the meeting of two or more streets wordnet
- 7 Something characterized by a square, or nearly square, form.; The front of a woman's dress over the bosom, usually worked or embroidered.
- 8 a formal and conservative person with old-fashioned views wordnet
- 9 Something characterized by a square, or nearly square, form.; A dessert cut into rectangular pieces, or a piece of such a dessert. Canada, US
- 10 someone who doesn't understand what is going on wordnet
- 11 Something characterized by a square, or nearly square, form.; A certain number of lines, forming a portion of a column, nearly square; used chiefly in reckoning the prices of advertisements in newspapers.
- 12 the product of two equal terms wordnet
- 13 An L- or T-shaped tool used to place objects or draw lines at right angles.
"There are so many uses for the square, in fact, that a new model will usually come complete with a booklet enumerating its applications."
- 14 (geometry) a plane rectangle with four equal sides and four right angles; a four-sided regular polygon wordnet
- 15 An L- or T-shaped tool used to place objects or draw lines at right angles.; A true measure, standard, or pattern. figuratively, obsolete
- 16 something approximating the shape of a square wordnet
- 17 An open space or park, often in the center of a town, not necessarily square in shape, often containing trees, seating and other features pleasing to the eye.
"The statue of Alexander the Seventh stands in the large square of the town."
- 18 An open space or park, often in the center of a town, not necessarily square in shape, often containing trees, seating and other features pleasing to the eye.; A street surrounding a public square or plaza. often
- 19 The product of a number or quantity multiplied by itself; the second power of a number, value, term or expression.
"64 is the square of 8."
- 20 A pattern to be matched that consists of a subpattern repeated, such as "papa" or "wikiwiki".
"Squares cannot be easily matched by regular expressions."
- 21 A body of troops drawn up in a square formation.
"he alone Dealt on lieutenantry, and no practice had In the brave squares of war"
- 22 A socially conventional or conservative person; a person who has little or no interest in the latest fads or trends. dated
"Why do you always wear a tie? Don't be such a square!"
- 23 The symbol # on a telephone; hash. British
"Enter your account number followed by a square."
- 24 The central area of a cricket field, with one or more pitches of which only one is used at a time.
"An ideal playing area is roughly circular in shape with a central area, the cricket square, measuring 27.44 metres by 27.44 metres and boundaries 45.75 metres from the sides of the square."
- 25 A unit of measurement of area, equal to a 10 foot by 10 foot square, i.e. 100 square feet or roughly 9.3 square metres. Used in real estate for the size of a house or its rooms, though progressively being replaced by square metres in metric countries such as Australia.
"2006, Macquarie Bank (Australia), press release Macquarie releases Real Estate Market Outlook 2006 - "The World Squared", 21 June 2006 http://www.macquarie.com.au/au/about_macquarie/media_centre/20060621.htm Just as the basic unit of real estate measurement across the world is the square"
- 26 A unit used in measuring roof area equivalent to 100 square feet (9.29 m²) of roof area. The materials for roofing jobs are often billed by the square in the United States.
- 27 A mortarboard.
- 28 Ellipsis of square meal. US, abbreviation, alt-of, colloquial, ellipsis
"Even when times were tough, we got three squares a day."
- 29 Exact proportion; justness of workmanship and conduct; regularity; rule. archaic
"1594-1597, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie They of Galatia [were] much more out of square."
- 30 The relation of harmony, or exact agreement; equality; level.
"We live not on the square with such as these."
- 31 The position of planets distant ninety degrees from each other; a quadrate.
- 32 The act of squaring, or quarrelling; a quarrel. dated
- 33 Cigarette. slang
- 34 A vat used for fermentation.
- 35 A well-defined torso. Multicultural-London-English, slang
"She wanna talk about feelings But I don't believe in love Just give me your square"
Verb
- 1 To adjust so as to align with or place at a right angle to something else; in particular transitive
"The casting was mounted on a milling machine so that its sides could be squared."
- 2 make square wordnet
- 3 To adjust so as to align with or place at a right angle to something else; in particular:; To place at a right angle to the mast or keel. transitive
"to square the yards"
- 4 raise to the second power wordnet
- 5 To adjust so as to align with or place at a right angle to something else; in particular:; To rotate the oars so that they are perpendicular to the water. transitive
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- 6 turn the oar, while rowing wordnet
- 7 To resolve or reconcile; to suit or fit. ambitransitive
"John can square this question up for us."
- 8 turn the paddle; in canoeing wordnet
- 9 To adjust or adapt so as to bring into harmony with something. transitive
"I cannot square the results of the experiment with my hypothesis."
- 10 position so as to be square wordnet
- 11 Of a value, term, or expression, to multiply by itself; to raise to the second power. transitive
- 12 pay someone and settle a debt wordnet
- 13 To draw, with a pair of compasses and a straightedge only, a square with the same area as. transitive
"square the circle"
- 14 be compatible with wordnet
- 15 To tile (completely fill) with squares. transitive
- 16 cause to match, as of ideas or acts wordnet
- 17 To make a short low pass sideways across the pitch
"First, former Toffee Mikel Arteta sent Walcott racing clear but instead of shooting he squared towards Ramsey, who was foiled by Tony Hibbert."
- 18 To take opposing sides; to quarrel. archaic
- 19 To accord or agree exactly; to be consistent with; to suit; to fit.
"No works shall find acceptance […] that square not truly with the Scripture plan."
- 20 To go to opposite sides; to take an attitude of offense or defense, or of defiance; to quarrel. obsolete
"Are you such fools / To square for this?"
- 21 To take a boxing attitude; often with up or off.
"There we stood, well squared up before it, shoulder to shoulder, and foot to foot, with our hands behind us, not budging an inch."
- 22 To form with four sides and four right angles.
"A stately pallace built of squared bricke, Which cunningly was without morter laid"
- 23 To form with right angles and straight lines, or flat surfaces.
"to square mason's work"
- 24 To compare with, or reduce to, any given measure or standard.
"to square the general sex By Cressid's rule"
- 25 To hold a quartile position respecting.
"the icy Goat, the Crab that square the Scales"
Adjective
- 1 Shaped like a square (the polygon).
"The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, […]."
- 2 Forming a right angle (90°).
"a square corner"
- 3 Forming a right angle (90°).; Forming right angles in all planes as intended; not racked or leaning.
"The foundation has to be level and the framing has to be square."
- 4 Forming a right angle (90°).; Forming right angles with the mast or the keel, and parallel to the horizon; said of the yards of a square-rigged vessel when they are so braced.
- 5 Used in the names of units of area formed by multiplying a unit of length by itself.
"A floor that measures 4 feet square has an area of 16 square feet."
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- 6 Honest; straightforward; fair.
"I'm just looking for a square deal on my car repair."
- 7 Satisfied; comfortable with; not experiencing any conflict.
"By the confident tone in her voice, you can tell she is square with that."
- 8 Even; tied
"to make or leave the accounts square"
- 9 Socially conventional; boring. derogatory, slang
"It was a square town, but that didn't bother me. I knew I didn't have to live a square life."
- 10 In line with the batsman's popping crease.
- 11 Solid, decent, substantial.
"It may be prison, but at least I'm getting three square meals a day."
- 12 Having a shape broad for the height, with angular rather than curving outlines.
"a man of a square frame"
- 13 Of an internal combustion engine design, in which the diameter of the piston is similar, roughly, approximately, equal to its stroke distance.
Adjective
- 1 rigidly conventional or old-fashioned wordnet
- 2 without evasion or compromise wordnet
- 3 leaving no balance wordnet
- 4 having four equal sides and four right angles or forming a right angle wordnet
- 5 characterized by honesty and fairness wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 providing abundant nourishment wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Directly.
"Staash tipped up the rim of his hat and looked me square in the eyes as the cigarette dangled from his lips."
Adverb
- 1 firmly and solidly wordnet
- 2 in a square shape wordnet
- 3 in a straight direct way wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"St Mark's Square in Venice is always swarming with tourists in the summer."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "square"?
Common synonyms include: aboveboard, absolutely, accommodate, accord, accord, accordant.
How do you use "square" in a sentence?
St Mark's Square in Venice is always swarming with tourists in the summer.
How do you pronounce "square"?
Pronounced /skwɛə/.
Etymology
From Middle English square, sqware, squyre; from Old French esquarre, esquerre, (modern French équerre), from Vulgar Latin *exquadra, from Latin ex- + quadro, from quadrus (compare English quad and quadra). Doublet of squad and squadra. Displaced Old English fēowerecge (fēower nominative + ecg accusative, as in "four-edged").