释义 |
square /skwār/ noun- A geometric figure having four equal sides and four right angles
- An object, piece, space, figure, of approximately that shape, eg a windowpane, paving-stone, space on a chessboard, a silk headscarf
- An open space, commonly but not necessarily of that shape, in a town, along with its surrounding buildings
- A rectangular area in the centre of a cricket ground, on which the wickets are prepared
- A rectangular block of buildings (US)
- A body of troops drawn up in that form
- The product of a quantity multiplied by itself (mathematics)
- The yoke of a garment (Shakespeare)
- A unit of flooring, 100 square feet
- An instrument for drawing or testing right angles
- A carpenter's measure
- A piece of timber cut square, of side up to six inches
- A canon, standard, criterion, rule (obsolete)
- Squareness
- Quartile aspect (old astronomy)
- Due proportion
- Order
- Honesty, equity, fairness
- A quarrel, dissension (obsolete)
- Poss a part, compartment (Shakespeare, King Lear I.1.73)
- An unopened cotton flower (US)
- A person of boringly traditional outlook and opinions, esp in musical taste or dress (informal)
- A square meal (informal)
adjective- Having or approaching the form of a square
- Relatively broad, thick-set
- Right-angled
- (in football, etc) in a line, position, etc across the pitch
- Equal to a quantity multiplied by itself
- Measuring an area in two dimensions, ie length multiplied by width or breadth
- Exact, suitable, fitting
- True, equitable, fair, honest
- Even, leaving no balance, equal in score
- Directly opposed
- Complete, unequivocal
- Solid, full, satisfying
- (of taste in music, dress, etc) boringly traditional and orthodox (informal)
- Bourgeois in attitude (informal)
transitive verb- To make square or rectangular, esp in cross-section
- To make nearly cubical
- To form into squares
- To mark with squares
- To construct or determine a square equal to
- To multiply by itself
- To reduce to any given measure or standard, to adjust, regulate
- To bring into accord, reconcile
- To place at right angles with the mast or keel (nautical)
- To make equal
- To pay
- To bribe
- (with with) to get (someone's) agreement, approval or permission for something
intransitive verb- To suit, fit
- To accord or agree
- To adopt a position of offence and defence, as a boxer does (often with up to; see also below)
- To swagger (obsolete)
- To make the score or account even
adverb- At right angles
- Solidly
- Directly
- Evenly
- Fairly, honestly
ORIGIN: OFr esquarre (Fr équerre), from L ex and quadra a square squared adjective squareˈly adverb squareˈness noun squarˈer noun - Someone who or something that squares
- A fighting, quarrelsome person, or perh a swaggerer (Shakespeare)
squareˈwise adverb squarˈing noun and adjective squarˈish adjective square B see B quadratum under B (n). squareˈ-bashing noun (milit sl) Parade ground drill square bracket noun A bracket squareˈ-built adjective - Of a form suggesting squareness
- Broad in proportion to height
square centimetre, metre, etc noun An area equal to that of a square whose side measures a centimetre, metre, etc squareˈ-cut adjective - Cut in a square shape
- (of a person's chin) having a strong, squared outline
square dance noun (esp N American) A folk dance done by a group of four couples in a square formation squareˈ-dance intransitive verb squareˈ-dancing noun squared circle noun A wrestling ring square deal noun (informal) A fair and honest arrangement, transaction, etc squareˈ-eyed adjective square eyes plural noun An imaginary condition affecting those who watch too much television squareˈ-face noun (S Afr) Gin (from the shape of the bottle) square foot, inch, mile, etc noun An area equal to that of a square whose side measures a foot, etc squareˈhead noun (old derog sl) A Scandinavian or German square knot noun A reef knot square leg noun (cricket) A fielder, or a fielding position, on the legside in a line with the popping crease square matrix noun (mathematics) A matrix with an equal number of rows and columns square meal noun A full, satisfying meal square measure noun A system of measures for surfaces, its unit the square of the lineal unit square mile - See square foot above
- (usu with caps) the City of London, specif the area around and incl the Bank of England
- Financial life, activities, etc in the City of London (figurative)
square number noun A number the square root of which is an integer square peg see under peg squareˈ-pierced adjective (heraldry) Having a square opening so as to show the field square-riggedˈ adjective (nautical) Having square sails extended by yards suspended by the middle at right angles to the masts, opp to fore-and-aft square-riggˈer noun (nautical) A square-rigged ship square root noun A number or quantity which being multiplied by itself produces the quantity in question, eg 3 is the square root of 9 squareˈ-sail /-sl/ noun (nautical) A four-sided sail extended by yards suspended by the middle generally at right angles to the mast square sausage same as Lorne sausage square shooter noun (chiefly US informal) A frank and honest person square shooting noun square-shoulˈdered adjective With broad, straight shoulders square-toedˈ adjective (of shoes, etc) ending square at the toes squareˈ-toes noun - (pl) square-toed shoes
- (sing) an old-fashioned, punctilious person (archaic)
back to square one Back to the original position with the problem, etc, unchanged how squares go (obsolete) - What is doing
- How things are going
on the square - At right angles
- Openly, honestly
- An expression identifying someone as a member of the Freemasons (slang)
square away - To set (sails) at right angles to the keel (nautical)
- To make neat and tidy (N American)
square off (informal) To adopt an offensive or defensive stance, as in boxing before any blows are struck square up (informal) To settle (a bill, account, etc) square up to To face up to and tackle squaring the circle - Finding a square of the same area as a circle, which for hundreds of years was attempted by Euclidean means (ie with straight-edge and compass) until in 1882 it was proved impossible (also squaring the quadrature of the circle)
- Any impossible task
|