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

Moroccan flags fluttered in schoolchildren’s hands, portraits of King Mohammed VI overlooked roundabouts and public squares, and the national coat of arms adorned major boulevards. — ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026

Plans for 2027 include more than 50 new trees, 100 new seats, two public squares, rest areas and better signage and lighting. — Reuters, NBC news, 26 Oct. 2026

The move is the first step in a makeover of the storied shopping precinct, with plans to plant trees, install seating and add two new public squares. — Danica Kirka, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2026

In that raucous public square known as Reddit, anti-Trumpers are planning protests, evidence that Trump should not expect an overwhelmingly enthusiastic welcome in the traditionally red Sunflower State. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 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