plaza

noun

pla·​za ˈplä-zə  ˈpla- 

1

a

: a public square in a city or town

b

: an open area usually located near urban buildings and often featuring walkways, trees and shrubs, places to sit, and sometimes shops

2

: a place on a thoroughfare (such as a turnpike) at which all traffic must temporarily stop (as to pay tolls)

3

: an area adjacent to an expressway which has service facilities (such as a restaurant, gas station, and restrooms)

4

: shopping center

Examples of plaza in a Sentence

They put his statue in the town's plaza.

Recent Examples on the Web

On Wednesday, MassDOT’s Highway Administrator, Jonathan Gulliver, announced the department would restart the service plaza bidding process. —Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald, 16 Oct. 2025

Conceptual renderings show a carousel included in the plaza of the retail portion of the development. —Molly Davis, Nashville Tennessean, 16 Oct. 2025

Consider the open-air Lincoln Road, the pedestrian plaza in South Beach. —Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025

In June 2022, the city selected Cook’s clients, Gershman Partners and Citimark, to replace the eastern wing of the historic food hall with an 11-story apartment tower, renovate a public plaza to the west, and convert the neighboring Gold Building from office space to apartments. —IndyStar, 13 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from Latin platea broad street — more at place

First Known Use

1683, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing plaza

• toll plaza

Rhymes for plaza

• causa

Kids Definition

plaza

noun

pla·​za ˈplaz-ə  ˈpläz- 

: a public square in a city or town