square away

British  

verb

1. to set the sails of (a square-rigger) at right angles to the keel

2. (tr) to make neat and tidy

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square away Idioms  

1. Put in order; also, get ready for. For example, Once we've got the files squared away, we can decide on next year's repertory, or She had to square away the house before leaving town. This expression uses square in the sense of “arrange in accordance with some principle,” indirectly alluding to the geometric square. [Early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

square away

“Leadership roles usually create fiduciary duties and reputational alignment that are hard to square away with claims of full research independence.”

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

Before the pandemic, she liked to be in her classroom by 6 a.m. to square away her teaching prep and lesson planning.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2020

Q: @DrKJMurray asks: Are the Hawks going to square away the long snapper position?

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2017

I wanted to square away all the business before I got here so I could focus on my recovery.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 5, 2016

We had seen Dad nick fenders, slaughter chickens, square away with traffic policemen, and knock down full-grown trees, and we weren’t taking any chances.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey