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To make level or equal in amount, degree, or status
“But after I won three of the next four holes to square the match, suddenly I was flying high.”
To be compatible or consistent with
“They must satisfy moral needs, common sense, and instinct, and must square with the facts of science.”
To adapt something to be consistent with
“When you talk of divine truth nowadays, expect that men will square your theories with the spiritual aspirations of all mankind.”
To deal with, or reach an agreement about, something
“How can we square this issue with the nation's historical conscience?”
To pay off what one owes
“The funds helped Monroe square his debts, but even this windfall was insufficient to rescue his standard of living.”
To secure the help or acquiescence of (someone), especially by offering an inducement
“It was an attempt to square their own backbenchers, but they have failed to satisfy them, and we are now set for a battle royale.”
To form with right angles and straight lines, or flat surfaces
“To begin, clamp the scraper in a vise and joint the scraper's edges straight and square with a file.”
Plural for an open, typically four-sided, area surrounded by buildings in a village, town, or city
“As we arrived at the square, the normal jumble of carts, wagons, stalls, and milling people that we saw every day greeted us.”
Plural for a person considered to be old-fashioned or boringly conventional in attitude or behavior
“He's a plodding, conventional square, and she's a get-ahead, modern girl who doesn't need to cling to conventional wisdom.”
(geometry) Plural for a polygon with four sides of equal length and four right angles
“A horse is tethered by a rope to the intersection of diagonals of a field in the shape of a square.”
Related Words and Phrases
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