square mile

American  

[skwair mahyl] / ˈskwɛər ˈmaɪl /

noun

• square miles
  plural

1. a unit of area measurement equal to a square measuring one mile on each side; equivalent to 2.59 square kilometers. mi 2 , sq. mi.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• square miles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of square mile

First recorded in 1620–30

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

square mile

Alex, as the township is known, is a stone's throw away from Sandton, Africa's richest square mile, but the differences could not be starker.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Thanks to long-term government contracts, it is now boom time across the roughly 1 square mile of factories, warehouses and offices that occupy a part of Tucson’s main airport.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Using data from Europe's Sentinel-1 radar satellites, the scientists monitored seasonal changes on nearly every Alaska glacier larger than about half a square mile between mid-2016 and 2024.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 12, 2026

Today, Hood County has the sixth most planned data centers among Texas counties; per square mile, it ranks third.

From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026

The point is that we’re still living in the same square mile of Brooklyn where I’ve spent my whole life.

From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead

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