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
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 Advertisement And the beach really is our public square — to be able to access this landscape, to enjoy it, this is so intrinsically part of our identity as Californians. Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2023 Grupo Frontera joins a long list of national and international artists who have set foot in the second-largest public square in the world, only behind Tiananmen in Beijing. Natalia Cano, Billboard, 23 Aug. 2023 The Mexican-American band will perform at the capital’s Zócalo — the country’s most important public square — on Sept. 15 for the annual Grito de Independencia event, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced Wednesday (Aug. 23). Natalia Cano, Billboard, 23 Aug. 2023 Grupo Frontera is set to help celebrate Mexican Independence Day with a special performance at the Zócalo — the country’s most important public square — on Sept. 15. Griselda Flores, Billboard, 26 Aug. 2023 The Woodcock Foundation is a funder of Headway’s public square. Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2023 On Saturday, a Russian attack on a public square in the northern city of Chernihiv killed at least seven people, including a child. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2023 In Paris and Prague, Vienna and Budapest, Berlin and Bucharest, public squares, cafés, and clubs gave Europe fresh constitutions and new parliaments, and a sense of the slate being wiped clean—the prospect of beginning the project of History over again. James Robins, The New Republic, 8 Aug. 2023 Section of town where lots of people gather close to public square, close to the game. Staff Reports, cleveland, 8 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'public square.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1757, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of public square was in 1757

Dictionary Entries Near public square

Cite this Entry

“Public square.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public%20square. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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