plaza

noun

pla·za | \ ˈplä-zə

Definition of plaza

1a : a public square in a city or town

b : an open area usually located near urban buildings and often featuring walkways, trees and shrubs, places to sit, and sometimes shops

2 : a place on a thoroughfare (such as a turnpike) at which all traffic must temporarily stop (as to pay tolls)

3 : an area adjacent to an expressway which has service facilities (such as a restaurant, gas station, and restrooms)

4 : shopping center

Examples of plaza in a Sentence

They put his statue in the town's plaza.

Recent Examples on the Web

The rest is divided evenly three ways for an ongoing maintenance fund, refashioning the sculpture's base and maintaining the plaza around her, and seed money for future art on the trail. — Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, "Mass Ave's electronic 'Ann Dancing' needs $262,800. Here's what's behind that number.," 4 June 2019 Held under an open sky at the famous Rockefeller Center plaza, the event played host to a most unexpected modeling newbie: none other than comedian and frequent tabloid fixture, Pete Davidson. — Brooke Bobb, Vogue, "Pete Davidson Just Walked Alexander Wang’s Show," 1 June 2019 At least one person was arrested and six men were kicked out of the plaza. — Hasan Dudar, Detroit Free Press, "Boom! Firework display awes huge crowd in Detroit, Belle Isle, Windsor," 25 June 2018 The triangular plaque has long sat in the corner of the plaza in front of Roundhouse One, also known as the Beltline Roundhouse, which was built in 1913 for trains running along the waterfront. — Heather Knight, SFChronicle.com, "An SF plaque hinted of a mysterious time capsule. Here’s what was found," 20 June 2018 The team conceived of a plaza outside the building as a space paved in the same quilt pattern as the building itself, with features including an infinity pool and staircase that would double as an outdoor amphitheater. — Steven Litt, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Public Library unveils 3 competing proposals for new MLK Library in University Circle (photos)," 10 May 2018 Wine, beer and margaritas…oh my! Look for them at the Jungle Java stand at the main plaza as well as the Cavern Cafe and the Lakeside Lounge. — Jennifer Mcclellan, azcentral, "Phoenix Zoo: What to know before you go. A helpful guide for families planning to visit," 11 Apr. 2018 Any future titles would require some major reorganization or expansion of the plaza. — Michael Casagrande, AL.com, "With Alabama Walk of Champions out of room, where 2017 title team will go," 6 Apr. 2018 Along the border of the plaza is a wall with the names of each of the 1,300 sanitation workers etched into marble. — Michael Harriot, The Root, "Memphis, Tenn., Honors 1968 Sanitation Workers With I Am a Man Plaza," 5 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'plaza.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.