The Phrasal Verb 'Square Up' Explained
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'square up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
Have you ever heard the English phrasal verb 'square up' before and wondered what it means? Would it surprise you to learn that it has at least four different meanings in English and that it can be used to describe things as varied as tidiness, fighting and payments? In this blog post, I will explain each of these different meanings for you, as well as the general idea that links them all together. Also, I will provide you with lots of example sentences for each one so that you can start using 'square up' confidently and accurately like a native speaker. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'square up' is all about....
QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'square up' mean?The phrasal verb 'square up' has four main meanings in English....
Continue reading to learn more about each one.... |
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THE BASICS
SQUARE UP: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 4 |
Past tense forms | Squared up / Squared up |
Separable? | Sometimes |
The phrasal verb 'square up' is made up of the two words 'square' and 'up', so to begin let's first consider what these two little words mean on their own.
Square - I imagine that when you see the word 'square', the first thing that comes to your mind is the noun 'square' as in the shape with four equal sides. It may surprise you to know that the verb 'to square' also exists and that it has several meanings, although none of them are particularly common. When used as a verb, 'to square' can mean 'to position something at right angles', 'to pay a bill or money that is owed', 'to be consistent with something else' and 'to multiply a number by itself'. This is not the last time that will see some of these meanings as they will appear later in the post when we cover the meanings of the phrasal verb 'square up'.
The carpenter squared the edge of the wooden beam.
The girl's statement does not square with her boyfriend's.
I'll square the bill with you next week.
What do you get if you square the number 5? 25
Up - The particle 'up' wins the (non-existent) award for being the commonest particle in phrasal verb application. As a result, it can add many different ideas or meanings to the verb that it is attached to and these include a literal upwards meaning (go up) or an increase (rise up), as well as ideas like a movement towards something (come up), division (break up), preparation (set up), completion (eat up) and closure (lock up).
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'square up'....
MEANING 1 To arrange or place something in a straight line
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To level up, to arrange, to organise |
Separable? | Yes |
The first meaning of the phrasal verb 'square up' is more or less a literal meaning of the combination of the two words and means 'to arrange or place something in a straight line'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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This first application is a great one for all of those among you who like things to be neat, tidy and well-ordered. It is typically used to talk about objects with straight edges that we can move and position. When you square something up, you simply move it so that it is in a straight line or at the correct angle, often aligned with other similar objects (like the containers in the picture above).
We get this meaning from the base idea of the verb 'to square', meaning to position something in a straight line or at a right angle to something. The addition of the particle 'up' here is to convey the idea of a finished or completed action. For example, if you square up some chairs and table, they will all end up in the correct position and in alignment with one other and most importantly, will look tidy and organised.
This usage is a separable usage and can be used both ways. Remember that the pronouns 'it' or 'them' must always go between 'square' and 'up'.
Example sentences....
Square up the table with the wall before you move the other furniture.
Can you square up those boxes so they’re all in a straight line?
He squared up the picture frame before stepping back to look at it.
We need to square up the shelves before we screw them into place.
Square the cabinet up with the edge of the worktop.
The tiles aren’t quite straight, so we’ll need to square them up.
He carefully squared up the boards before fixing them together.
Could you square those chairs up with the tables?
I squared everything up so that the edges were perfectly aligned.
MEANING 2: To prepare to fight someone
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To face off, to confront, to stand up to |
Separable? | No |
Things are going to get interesting for this next application of the phrasal verb 'square up' as it means 'to prepare to fight someone'.
Whether you are cat owners or not, you will undoubtedly be familiar with the sight of two enemy cats standing close to one another and making loud aggressive noises in an effort to scare the other one away. If these noisy endeavours are not successful, the next thing that usually happens is that they start fighting. When cats engage in this pre-fighting behaviour, we can say that they are "squaring up".
Of course, this phrasal verb usage is not just limited to cats and can be used to talk about other animals and especially humans. When we talk about people or animals squaring up, we are essentially describing the positions that they adopt when they face another person and prepare to fight. If you think back to the previous application, it is probable that this usage comes from getting your body into an aligned position with your opponent to make you as prepared as possible to fight.
Example sentences....
The two men squared up outside the pub.
They squared up, but fortunately someone stepped in before a fight started.
Kevin took off his jacket and squared up, ready for a fight.
For a moment, it looked as though the cats were going to square up.
The boys were squaring up in the playground when a teacher intervened.
The two boxers squared up in the centre of the ring.
You should note that when using this application that if you want to specify the other person who you or the subject are planning to fight, we use the particle 'to', giving us the structure 'to square up to someone'. One important distinction to make here is that when we use 'square up' without 'to' it implies that both people are prepared to fight. For instance if you are referring to boxers at the start of a fight, you would say that they are squaring up as they are both preparing themselves for combat.
However, when you use 'square up to', the implication is often that one person (or animal) confronts another in an aggressive way, often when the other person does not want to fight.
Lastly, on a grammatical note this second application is not separable.
Example sentences....
Kevin squared up to the man who had pushed him.
The two players squared up to each other after the tackle.
The school bully squared up to me and told me to get out of his way.
The brave teenager squared up to a much bigger man outside the station.
Why are you squaring up to me? I’m not looking for a fight.
Darren was thrown out of the pub after squaring up to another customer.
MEANING 3: To face a difficult situation
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To face up to, to cope with, to deal with |
Separable? | No |
The third of the four usages of the phrasal verb 'square up' is a rarer one that means 'to face a difficult situation'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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In the last section, I explained how 'square up' can often be used to talk about preparing for a physical fight and you could definitely say that a fight counts as a difficult situation. However, while the last section was quite fight-specific, in this one we can use it to talk in a broader way about any type of situation that is challenging or difficult.
Like with the previous application, we also need the additional particle 'to' here to specify the difficult thing. The idea this time is that if you 'square up to something', you face this difficult thing with the intention of handling or dealing with it. Again, it is all about being as prepared and ready as possible for something.
Example sentences....
We need to square up to the problems facing the business.
Sooner or later, he’ll have to square up to the consequences of his decision.
The government must square up to the challenges posed by an ageing population.
Cathy finally squared up to the fact that the project was failing.
The company has been slow to square up to its financial difficulties.
It’s time we squared up to the reality of the situation.
My Dad refused to square up to his responsibilities and kept blaming other people.
They eventually squared up to the difficult decisions that had to be made.
We can’t keep ignoring the issue; we need to square up to it.
MEANING 4: To pay money that you owe
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To pay (off), to pay up, to settle up, to balance |
Separable? | No |
We are going to end the post with the fourth and final application of the phrasal verb 'square up', which is to pay someone the money that you owe them.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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I often think about how much society has changed over the past few decades with the spread of the internet and the digital world and how it has had such a big effect on almost every area of our lives. One area where this is evident is paying money as in many countries, most payments are now done digitally or even with your phone instead of with traditional cash. Regardless of how you pay however, the use of the phrasal verb 'square up' to describe making a payment has not changed and can be used for any of these: new or old.
This informal application of the phrasal verb 'square up' is generally used for money that you owe another person or business, especially when you are settling a bill or a debt. Normally, I would not use it for instant transactions like paying for goods in a shop or in an online purchase. Instead, I would use it in instances where there is a record or account of what I have bought, when there is a period of time between ordering or receiving the thing and paying for it. This may be just a short gap of an hour or so like paying your bill in a restaurant or a longer gap like paying a company invoice 30 days after it was issued.
There are two extra particles that we can use with this usage depending on what we are saying. If we are talking about paying a person what we owe them, we say "square up with someone" and if we are talking about what we are paying for, we use "square up for something". This usage is not separable.
Example sentences....
We squared up with the landlord before we moved out.
I’ll square up with you when I get paid on Friday.
Have you squared up with the restaurant yet?
Let’s square up before we leave.
Mike still needs to square up for the drinks he ordered last night.
We can square up at the end of the week.
Sarah squared up with the hotel before checking out.
Don’t worry about paying me now; we can square up for it later.
Everyone squared up before heading home.
I need to square up with Tom for my share of the taxi fare.
Once we’d squared up, we left the pub.
The underlying idea behind this usage is that an account becomes aligned again once money has been paid that was owed for a period of time. While we are on this subject, there is also another way that 'square up' can be used to talk about them and this is when there are discrepancies on accounts and numbers do not correspond. When this happens, it is possible to say that the "accounts do not square up".
Example sentences....
The accounts don’t square up, so there must be a mistake somewhere.
The figures still didn’t square up, even after we checked all the invoices.
Everything finally squared up once we found the missing payment.
We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'square up' more confidently and naturally.
Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'square up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media.
Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills?Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... |
Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊
THE END
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