plaza

[plah-zuh, plaz-uh]

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.

plaza

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of plaza¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of plaza¹

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

Example Sentences

To mark the 14th anniversary of his death, Everton have installed a 'talking bench' on the fan plaza as a way to "encourage conversation, tackle loneliness and isolation, and signpost people to mental health support".

Read more on BBC

The vision emerging now, Nabholz says, is an office laid out more like a city of neighborhoods centered on plazas.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Penelope shepherded the three Incorrigibles away from the gate and across the plaza, until she spotted an empty park bench in a quiet spot.

Read more on Literature

As he approached Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center, which is located in a shopping plaza, he noticed two unfamiliar cars out front.

Read more on Salon

As we round the corner out of the municipal plaza, those same green hills that called us to the countryside appear just beyond the end of the road.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• park 
• square