square up

phrasal verb

squared up; squaring up; squares up

: to turn so that one is facing something or someone directly

She squared up (with/to the basket) for a three-point shot.

They squared up for a fight.

Examples of square up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Rapidly spreading its toxic influence across the lands, Magatsu and its minions are a world-ending threat, and the early tutorial bit sees players square up against the baddie only to ultimately lose. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2025

In the middle were the highlights: photographs of Ali and Frazier squaring up in Manila, with Padilla looking on. —Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025

These teams have squared up six times this century, with none of those games having been carried in a national TV slot. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 15 Sep. 2025

Make catches in traffic and squaring up blocking attempts on defenders even if he’s forbidden from pile-driving them into the ground, WWE style. —Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for square up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup