public square
noun
1
: an open public area in a city or town where people gather
St. Mark's Square in Venice is sinking at a time when this Italian city's popularity is rising. The world's most famous public square now floods an average of three out of every five days.—
Tom Crosby
Tom Crosby2
: the sphere of public opinion
In an August 2007 speech, then-New York governor Eliot Spitzer expounded upon Reinhold Niebuhr and the virtues of humility in the public square.—Lisa Miller
Lisa Miller… using legal action to cow an opponent into silence, and withdrawal from the public square.—Mark Steyn
Mark SteynExamples of public square in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images What To Know Jackson was set to perform at the Piazza del Plebiscito—a public square—in Naples, Italy, on Tuesday, July 8.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 July 2025
Best public squares in the US, according to USA TODAY readers
Campus Martius Park (Detroit, Michigan).
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Philadelphia’s founder, William Penn, would likely approve that Rittenhouse Square Park and three other public squares – Logan, Franklin and Washington – were included.
—Eric Zillmer, The Conversation, 25 June 2025
Thousands of people who gathered in Switzerland for Art Basel encountered a large public square sprayed with white and magenta paint — a work of installation art by Katharina Grosse.
—Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for public square
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Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 July 2025
Best public squares in the US, according to USA TODAY readers
Campus Martius Park (Detroit, Michigan).
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Philadelphia’s founder, William Penn, would likely approve that Rittenhouse Square Park and three other public squares – Logan, Franklin and Washington – were included.
—Eric Zillmer, The Conversation, 25 June 2025
Thousands of people who gathered in Switzerland for Art Basel encountered a large public square sprayed with white and magenta paint — a work of installation art by Katharina Grosse.
—Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for public square
Cite this Entry
“Public square.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public%20square. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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