plaza

noun

pla·​za ˈplä-zə  ˈpla- 

1

a

: 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

Clarendon Hills officials are considering the addition of a downtown plaza on Prospect Avenue, between Railroad and Park avenues. —Chuck Fieldman, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2025

The Ice District now includes shopping and dining, office space, a casino, residential condos, a JW Marriott hotel and an outdoor plaza. —Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 4 June 2025

Officers arrived to the Pembroke Gardens shopping plaza located at 527 SW 145th Terrace and found one adult man who had been shot. —Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 31 May 2025

Peterson never took the witness stand during the murder trial that attracted celebrity lawyers and trial watchers and became such a national sensation that when the guilty verdict was announced, hundreds of people packed the courthouse plaza and let out cheers. —Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 31 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from Latin platea broad street — more at place

First Known Use

1683, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing plaza

• toll plaza

Rhymes for plaza

• causa

Kids Definition

plaza

noun

pla·​za ˈplaz-ə  ˈpläz- 

: a public square in a city or town