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”; place

Example Sentences

At a plaza at the complex, people manning a local relief effort collected donations and distributed essentials such as clothing, bedding, diapers and food to residents displaced by the fire.

From The Wall Street Journal

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".

From BBC

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

From The Wall Street Journal

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.

From 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.

From Salon

Related Words

• park
• square