plaza

American  

[plah-zuh, plaz-uh] / ˈplɑ zə, ˈplæz ə /

noun

1. a public square or open space in a city or town.

2. shopping plaza.

3. an area along an expressway where public facilities, as service stations and restrooms, are available.

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plaza British  

/ ˈplaθa, ˈplɑːzə /

noun

1. an open space or square, esp in Spain or a Spanish-speaking country

2. 1. a modern complex of shops, buildings, and parking areas

   2. ( capital when part of a name )

      Rockefeller Plaza

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Etymology

Origin of plaza

First recorded in 1675–85; from Spanish, from Latin platea “street,” from Greek plateîa “broad street”; see place

Explanation

A plaza is an urban park or square, or another public space where people can walk, sit, and congregate. You might, for example, tell your friend to meet you in the plaza downtown with the big horse statue. There are plazas that are mainly open spaces for pedestrians, sometimes including statues, fountains, and benches, like Washington DC's Freedom Plaza or Union Square in New York. Other plazas are more commercial, offering room to stroll and sit but also stores and restaurants. In Spanish, plaza simply means "place," and the earliest plazas were built in Spanish colonies in South America and the East Indies.

Example Sentences

The plaza is nowhere near full, nor has the list of Galaxy players and coaches who deserve statues been exhausted, so Braun said there likely will be more sculptures added in the near future.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

They sang gospel, religious, and protest songs from the civil rights movement together, their voices carrying across the plaza.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

At their point of contact, a large triangular slice of the addition is cut away, exposing the sides of the boxes and creating a street-level plaza.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

In Northern California, Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty announced on X that he is appointing a council subcommittee to guide renaming the city’s downtown plaza park, which is named for Chavez.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Moments later the Mysterious Benedict Society stood on the plaza, exactly where the boys had stood that morning when Jackson blindfolded them.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

Related Words

• park
• square