word square

American  

noun

1. a set of words such that when arranged one beneath another in the form of a square they read alike horizontally and vertically.

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word square British  

noun

1. a puzzle in which the player must fill a square grid with words that read the same across as down

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Etymology

Origin of word square

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

word square

And today's argot changes so quickly that by the time a catch line shows up in ads, it has often become as outdated and square as, well, the word square itself.

From Time Magazine Archive

The word square means four-cornered, or lacking flexibility.

From Time Magazine Archive

Many years ago," observed Maine's Senator Margaret Chase Smith, 66, at a dinner in Manhattan, "the word square was one of the most honored words in our vocabulary.

From Time Magazine Archive

Now here they are said to be all square; square is a note of perfection; but this word square may be taken two ways.

From Works of John Bunyan — Volume 03 by Bunyan, John

I see what a square is by seeing squares and handling them, and later I get this idea simply in response to the word "square" in conversation or reading.

From Psychology A Study Of Mental Life by Woodworth, Robert S.