square one
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of square one
First recorded in 1955–60; alluding to board games in which a player is penalized by being forced to return to the starting point
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Everything we thought has been brushed under the carpet and moved to one side, we are pretty much back to square one."
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
That leaves investors back to square one, in some respects, in terms of assessing the market’s path into the second half of the year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
Tyler Glasnow is back to square one in his recovery from back spasms.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
If not, we are back to square one.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026
Back to square one, back to being invisible and unnoticed.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
