Squared

How to spell squared

7 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce squared

What does squared mean?

1. adjectiveMultiplied by itself, that is, raised to the power of two.
2. verbSettled or balanced something, such as an account or a disagreement, so that it was made even.
3. verbMade something into a true square shape, or straightened it into proper alignment.

Squared in a sentence

• adjective

  Four squared is sixteen.

• verb

  She squared the account with the supplier before the end of the month.

• verb

  The joiner squared each plank before fixing the frame together.

• adjective

  The formula multiplies the radius squared by pi to find the area.

• verb

  The two managers squared their differences after a long meeting.

• verb

  He squared his shoulders and walked into the interview room.

Where does squared come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin quadra, meaning 'a square' or 'four-sided figure', which itself grew from quattuor, the Latin word for 'four'. The notion of fourness runs right through the family: a square has four equal sides. The form reached English through Old French esquare or esquarre, and Middle English reshaped it into 'square', dropping the opening 'e' but keeping the telltale 'qu' that points back to quattuor. By the 1500s the verb 'to square' had developed, meaning to make four-sided, and from there came the mathematical idea of multiplying a number by itself to find the area of a square. The everyday sense of squaring a debt or squaring one's shoulders is simply the same image of making something even, true, and properly aligned. The inflected form 'squared' keeps the 'qu' spelling of its Latin ancestor, which is the small trap for writers who hear only the 'kw' sound.

How the word is built

• square (from Latin quadra, a square)
• -ed (past tense / adjectival suffix)