plaza

[ plah-zuh, plaz-uh ]

/ ˈplɑ zə, ˈplæz ə /

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noun

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

shopping plaza.

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

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of plaza

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

Words nearby plaza

playwear, play with, play with fire, playwright, playwriting, plaza, plaza de toros, Plaza Lasso, PLC, plea, plea-bargain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use plaza in a sentence

The normally bustling plazas around the State House were empty.
Maryland lawmakers return to Annapolis for start of unusual 90-day session|Ovetta Wiggins, Erin Cox|January 13, 2021|Washington Post
You would be reasonably close, to be able to protest and express your view, but nobody belongs on the Capitol plaza.
Woman dies after shooting in U.S. Capitol; D.C. National Guard activated after mob breaches building|Washington Post Staff|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
“They’re not only fighting for major plazas and smuggling routes, but they’re also fighting for corners,” Calderón said.
Border Report: What’s Behind Tijuana’s Violent Year|Maya Srikrishnan|December 15, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Like a public plaza playground-y, there are kids and people climbing on stuff — but shops, and llama signs.
PLAYBACK (2015): Could the Next Brooklyn Be … Las Vegas?! (Ep. 205)|Stephen J. Dubner|December 6, 2020|Freakonomics

One Saturday, a man from Providence, Rhode Island, stopped her in the plaza and asked for help registering some seniors back in his state.
How to fix America’s voter registration system so more people can vote|Jen Kirby|October 6, 2020|Vox
In her struggle to find her daughter, Esther becomes one of the founders of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.
How Pope Francis Became the World’s BFF|Jason Berry|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Plaza Hotel cooked a fancy-pants latke with red wine braised oxtail, horseradish sunchoke cream, and crispy kale.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed|Emily Shire|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A crate of the stuff arrived at the studio, compliments of the Plaza Athénée.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When they do dine, the Hitchcocks sometimes use Limoges china marked “Plaza Athénée.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In August, Trump filed a lawsuit to have his name removed from the casino and from the nearby, since-closed Trump Plaza.
I Watched a Casino Kill Itself: The Awful Last Nights of Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal|Olivia Nuzzi|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This rampart of dwellings was in the shape of a rectangle, and enclosed a large square or plaza containing a noble reservoir.
Overland|John William De Forest
Twenty men and twenty women advanced to the centre of the plaza in double file and faced each other.
Overland|John William De Forest
The Plaza was full of people, women talking under the stiff palms, and men sitting on wicker chairs on the hotel piazza opposite.
The Belted Seas|Arthur Colton
Meantime the Plaza is being filled with chairs—rocking-chairs—which seem to spring up out of nothing.
Gardens of the Caribbees, v. 1/2|Ida May Hill Starr
The Plaza is still the parlor in Guadalajara and it's enchanting!
Jane Journeys On|Ruth Comfort Mitchell

British Dictionary definitions for plaza

plaza

/ (ˈplɑːzə, Spanish ˈplaθa) /

noun

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

mainly US and Canadian

a modern complex of shops, buildings, and parking areas
(capital when part of a name)Rockefeller Plaza

Word Origin for plaza

C17: from Spanish, from Latin platēa courtyard, from Greek plateia; see place

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

plaza

Origin of plaza

Words nearby plaza

Words related to plaza

How to use plaza in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plaza

Word Origin for plaza