square off

verb

squared off; squaring off; squares off

intransitive verb

1

: to take a fighting stance : prepare to fight

also : to fight or argue

squared off in a debate

2

: to compete in a contest

The two teams squared off for the championship.

transitive verb

: to make square : to give (something) straight edges, flat surfaces, or sharp, even corners

Examples of square off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

From there, the Suns visit the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder before twice squaring off against the Golden State Warriors, the first in Phoenix, the second in San Francisco. —Doug Haller, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025

Former Houston Congressman Chris Bell has joined the race and will square off against State Representative Gina Hinojosa, of Austin, and entrepreneur Andrew White, of Houston, who ran in 2018. —Jack Fink, CBS News, 30 Nov. 2025

For the fourth time in the past two seasons, the Richland Royals and Denton Ryan Raiders squared off, as the pair of recent district foes met again in a Class 5A Division I Region I semifinal. —Mike Waters, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Nov. 2025

The two teams squared off in the Fort Myers Tip-Off. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for square off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff