public square

noun

1

: an open public area in a city or town where people gather

St. Mark's Square in Venice is sinking at a time when this Italian city's popularity is rising. The world's most famous public square now floods an average of three out of every five days.

—Tom Crosby

Mexico City's Zócalo … is the country's main public square and the second largest in the world after Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

—Natalia Cano

2

: the sphere of public opinion

In an August 2007 speech, then-New York governor Eliot Spitzer expounded upon Reinhold Niebuhr and the virtues of humility in the public square.

—Lisa Miller

… using legal action to cow an opponent into silence, and withdrawal from the public square.

—Mark Steyn

Examples of public square in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Intocable thus joined a long list of national and international artists who have performed at the world’s second-largest public square, surpassed only by Tiananmen in Beijing. — Natalia Cano, Billboard, 16 Sep. 2026

Along its two miles are 17 significant sites; public squares shaded by flame trees; and a pedestrian bridge that reconnects Muharraq with its original shoreline, which has been mostly lost to development. — Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Sep. 2026

In late July, the regime escalated its intimidation tactics by holding the first public executions since 2022 – but not before a large crowd tried to stop the construction of gallows in a public square. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Aug. 2026

After the explosion occurred on the ground floor of a skyscraper at the famous public square, investigators and emergency services began working at the scene and providing aid to the injured, per Reuters. — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1757, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for public square

• aftercare
• anywhere
• billionaire
• chinaware
• debonair
• dinnerware
• disrepair
• doctrinaire
• earthenware
• everywhere
• frigidaire
• kitchenware