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

On Tuesday, rights groups and lawmakers accused ICE of violating the judge's decision by arresting a 21-year-old man in the halls of 26 Federal Plaza.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

This April, a statue that had been removed in the state of Delaware in 2020 reappeared at Washington's central Freedom Plaza.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

Darcel Clark was at the Mall at Bay Plaza in the Bronx, N.Y., in February, waiting for her order from the Bed-Stuy Fish Fry when a rowdy group of teenagers suddenly descended on the property.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

First Cabin is on the 14th floor of the Waikiki Business Plaza, itself wedged between H&M and Lululemon on Honolulu’s main drag, Kalakaua Avenue.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

The streets swelled with bodies and chants, and as we got down to Police Plaza 1, the crowd started to fan out around the square.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

• park
• square