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

Silva, a housewife, rests on a bench in the plaza, a few meters from a military checkpoint.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

Immortalized on screen in “Forrest Gump,” the plaza and pool have provided the backdrop to some of the most consequential protests for equal rights in American history.

From Salon • May 7, 2026

Visitors entering the complex arrive at an open plaza where they can choose to walk down to the existing museum, or explore the above-ground pavilions.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

“Just to be in the plaza itself and have a statue, that’s the incredible part for me,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

They were marched across the plaza, down a walkway, and finally over a patch of grass.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

Related Words

• park
• square