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

Dickies Arena, which opened in October 2019, features two main club areas, located on the plaza level at the respective ends of the venue. —Mac Engel february 7, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Feb. 2026

Fans of Brady and the Patriots waited in line for several hours at the Downtown Commons plaza outside Golden 1 Center for a chance to meet him and get autographs. —Bee Staff february 7, Sacbee.com, 7 Feb. 2026

Besides ranchland, Kroenke also owns millions of square feet of retail space, much of it shopping plazas next to Walmart stores, Forbes Magazine reported. —Vic Kolenc, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026

But better just to continue along the wide streets around the circular plaza, a kilometer in diameter. —Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026

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