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square
square / skwe(ə)r/ • n. 1. a plane figure with four equal straight sides and four right angles. ∎ a thing having such a shape or approximately such a shape: she tore a bit of cloth into a four-inch square. ∎ a thing having the shape or approximate shape of a cube: a small square of chocolate. ∎ an open (typically four-sided) area surrounded by buildings in a town, village, or city: a market square | [in place names] Herald Square. ∎ an open area at the meeting of streets. ∎ a small square area on the board used in a game. ∎ a block of buildings bounded by four streets. ∎ hist. a body of infantry drawn up in rectangular form. ∎ a unit of 100 square ft. used as a measure of flooring, roofing, etc. 2. the product of a number multiplied by itself: a circle's area is proportional to the square of its radius. 3. an L-shaped or T-shaped instrument used for obtaining or testing right angles: a carpenter's square. ∎ Astrol. an aspect of 90° (one quarter of a circle): Venus in square to Jupiter. 4. inf. a person considered to be old-fashioned or boringly conventional in attitude or behavior. 5. inf. a square meal: three squares a day. • adj. 1. having the shape or approximate shape of a square: a square table. ∎ having the shape or approximate shape of a cube: a square box. ∎ having or in the form of two right angles: a suitable length of wood with square ends. ∎ having an outline resembling two corners of a square: his square jaw. ∎ broad and solid in shape: he was short and square. 2. denoting a unit of measurement equal to the area of a square whose side is of the unit specified: 30,000 square feet of new gallery space. ∎ denoting the length of each side of a square shape or object: the office was fifteen feet square. 3. at right angles; perpendicular: these lines must be square to the top and bottom marked edges. ∎ Astrol. having or denoting an aspect of 90°: Jupiter is square to the Sun. 4. level or parallel: place one piece of wood on top of the other, ensuring that they are exactly square. ∎ properly arranged; in good order: we should get everything square before we leave. ∎ compatible or in agreement: he wanted to make sure we were square with the court's decision and not subject to a lawsuit. ∎ fair and honest: she'd been as square with him as anybody could be. 5. (of two people) owing nothing to each other: an acknowledgment that we are square. ∎ with both players or sides having equal scores in a game: the goal brought the match all square once again. 6. inf. old-fashioned or boringly conventional: Elvis was anything but square. 7. (of rhythm) simple and straightforward. • adv. directly; straight: it hit me square in the forehead ∎ inf. fairly; honestly: I'd acted square and on the level with him. • v. [tr.] 1. make square or rectangular; give a square or rectangular cross section to: you can square off the other edge. ∎ [usu. as adj.] (squared) mark out in squares. 2. multiply (a number) by itself: 5 squared equals 25. ∎ [usu. as adj.] (squared) convert (a linear unit of measurement) to a unit of area equal to a square whose side is of the unit specified: there were only three people per kilometer squared. 3. make compatible; reconcile: I'm able to square my profession with my religious beliefs. ∎ [intr.] be compatible: do those announcements really square with the facts? 4. balance (an account): they're anxious to square their books before the audit. ∎ make the score of (a match or game) even: [tr.] his goal squared the match 1-1. ∎ inf. secure the help, acquiescence, or silence of (someone), esp. by offering an inducement: trying to square the press. 5. bring (one's shoulders) into a position in which they appear square and broad, typically to prepare oneself for a difficult task or event: chin up, shoulders squared, she stepped into the room. ∎ (square oneself) adopt a posture of defense. 6. Sailing set (a yard or other part of a ship) approximately at right angles to the keel or other point of reference. 7. Astrol. (of a planet) have a square aspect with (another planet or position): Saturn squares the Sun on the 17th. PHRASES: back to (or at) square one inf. back to where one started, with no progress having been made. on the square 1. inf. honest; straightforward. 2. inf. honestly; fairly. 3. at right angles. out of square not at right angles. square accounts withsee account. square the circle construct a square equal in area to a given circle (a problem incapable of a purely geometric solution). ∎ do something that is considered to be impossible. a square peg in a round holesee peg.PHRASAL VERBS: square something away arrange or deal with something in a satisfactory way: don't you worry, we'll get things squared away. square off assume the attitude of a person about to fight: the two men squared off | fig. a debate gives the candidates an opportunity to square off. square up settle or pay an account: would you square up the bill? ∎ settle a dispute or misunderstanding: I want to square up whatever's wrong between us. DERIVATIVES: square·ness n. squar·er n. squar·ish adj. |
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Cite this article
"square." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "square." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-square.html "square." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-square.html |
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square
square closed plane figure bounded by four straight line segments of equal length and meeting at right angles. The points of intersection of the lines, or sides, are called vertices. The diagonals of a square are the two lines joining opposite vertices; they are of equal length and are the perpendicular bisectors of one another. The perimeter of a square is the sum of the lengths of its sides, or P=4 s, where s is the length of a side. The area enclosed by a square is A= s2 . The square is one of the commonest geometric figures and has long had various symbolic meanings in religion and art. |
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"square." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "square." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-square.html "square." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-square.html |
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square
square
A. implement for determining a right angle XIII; B. rectangular figure with four equal sides XIV; rectangular area XVII. Earliest form squire (XIII–XVII) chiefly in sense A, later square (XV), aphetic — OF. esquere, esquare, (mod. équerre) :- Rom. *exquadra, f. *exquadrāre, f. L. EX-1 + quadra square (see QUADRANT). So square adj. XIV. — OF. esquarré, pp. of esquarrer (whence square vb. XIV). |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "square." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "square." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-square.html T. F. HOAD. "square." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-square.html |
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square
square.
1. Angle of 90°. 2. Figure of four equal sides and angles of 90°. 3. Square or rectangular open space in a town, formed at the junction of two or more streets, and surrounded by buildings, as in the Georgian squares of Britain, often with gardens in the middle. 4. Fillet in a series of mouldings. |
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Cite this article
JAMES STEVENS CURL. "square." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "square." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-square.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "square." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-square.html |
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square
square, the position of the yards when a square-rigged ship is at anchor and set up in harbour trim. The yards are square by the braces when they are at right angles to the fore-and-aft line of the ship. They are square by the lifts when they are horizontal.
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Cite this article
"square." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "square." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-square.html "square." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-square.html |
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square
square n. a body of infantry drawn up in rectangular form.
v. 1. (square oneself) adopt a posture of defense. 2. set (a yard or other part of a ship) approximately at right angles to the keel or other point of reference. |
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"square." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "square." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-square.html "square." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-square.html |
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square
square In geometry, rectangle with four sides of the same length. In arithmetic or algebra, a square is the result of multiplying a quantity by itself: the square of 3 is 9, and the square of x is x2.
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"square." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "square." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-square.html "square." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-square.html |
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Square
Squarea body of troops drawn up in a square formation. Examples : square of battle, 1599; of pedestrians, 1893; of pikes, 1602. |
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Cite this article
"Square." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Square." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301464.html "Square." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301464.html |
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Square
Square, a character in Fielding's Tom Jones.
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Square." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Square." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Square.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Square." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Square.html |
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