adj. 1 equilateral, quadrangular, rectangular, right-angled, quadrilateral, four-sided, cubic, cubed, six-sided, boxy She bought a work of art consisting of three square pieces of red plastic on a mauve ground He keeps trying to put square pegs into round holes. 2 equal, on a par, even, on equal terms, settled, balanced With this payment, our accounts are now all square 3 even, true, exact, straight, accurate, precise, correct Make sure that the corners are perfectly square 4 honourable, upright, honest, straightforward, fair (and square), decent, ethical, open, (open and) above-board, right, (right and) proper, clean, just, equitable, Colloq on the level, on the up and up I have never had anything but square dealings with Fred Latham 5 healthful, healthy, nutritious, substantial, solid, full, generous, satisfying, filling, unstinting You could always count on three square meals a day when staying at Auntie Maisie's 6 naïve, innocent; bourgeois, conservative, conventional, unsophisticated, provincial, old-fashioned, conformist, strait-laced, unimaginative, predictable, Colloq antediluvian, uptight, out of it, not with it, not in the know, not hip or hep, unhip, stuffy, behind the times, straight, US L-7 We were at the age when anyone over 25 was considered square
n. 7 rectilinear figure, rectangle; cube, block He took a square of wood and quickly carved it into the shape of a duck 8 plaza, piazza, place, park, (village) green, market-place, market (square), agora, quadrangle We like to sit on the benches in the square outside my house and chat with the neighbours 9 bourgeois, conservative, conformist, traditionalist, (old) fogy or fogey, die-hard; outsider; Colloq stuffed shirt, fuddy-duddy, US longhair, L-7, Slang US nerd, dweeb My parents did not understand me - they were real old squares
v. 10 stiffen, throw back, straighten (up), tense I squared my shoulders and prepared for the worst 11 Usually, square with. meet, match (with), conform to or with, obey, correspond to or with, tally with, accord with, agree with, reconcile with or to These activities do not square with the plans set out by the directors 12 adapt, adjust, change, modify, harmonize, accommodate, arrange, comply with, fit Ronald was unable to square his beliefs with what they were teaching him at the seminary 13 settle, arrange, come to terms, patch up, clear up, satisfy, fix Don't worry about the customs officials - I'll square it with them later on