plaza

Everyday

1. A plaza is an open public square in a town or city, often with paved ground, benches and sometimes a fountain. tree →
2. (US) A plaza can also mean a shopping centre or a group of shops and offices, as in "a shopping plaza". tree →

In the lessons

In geography lessons about towns, a plaza is a meeting place at the heart of a city, especially in Spanish-speaking countries (the word is Spanish). In everyday life in the USA and Canada, "plaza" often appears in names of malls and buildings. In stories it is where crowds gather, markets happen or people meet.

Examples

• We ate ice cream by the fountain in the plaza. tree →
• The town plaza was full of market stalls on Saturday. tree →
• There is a big Christmas tree in the plaza every December. tree →
• Mum parked at the shopping plaza near our school. tree →
• Pigeons gathered all over the plaza. tree →
• The parade ended in the main plaza. tree →
• In Spain and Mexico most towns have a central plaza. tree →

Note

Countable: plazas. Say "PLAH-za" (also "PLAZ-a" in the US). In the UK "square" is more usual for an open town space; "plaza" is borrowed from Spanish.