square bracket

[ skwair brak-it ]

noun

1. Printing. one of two marks [ or ] used in writing or printing to enclose parenthetical matter, interpolations, etc. Compare curly bracket ( def ).

square bracket

noun

1. either of a pair of characters [ ], used to enclose a section of writing or printing to separate it from the main text
2. Also calledbracket either of these characters used as a sign of aggregation in mathematical or logical expressions indicating that the expression contained in the brackets is to be evaluated first and treated as a unit in the evaluation of the whole

Word History and Origins

Origin of square bracket¹

First recorded in 1885–90