square up
Third Person
squares up
Present Participle
squaring up
Past Tense
squared up
Past Participle
squared up
1
to reach an agreement or manage a dispute, often by coming to terms or resolving differences
- After a heated argument, the friends decided it was time to square up and mend their relationship.
- The nations involved in the conflict were urged to square up and negotiate a peaceful resolution.
- The siblings had a disagreement over the family inheritance but eventually managed to square up and divide the assets fairly.
- In order to avoid a prolonged legal battle, the two parties involved in the dispute decided to square up and settle out of court.
- The neighbors, tired of the ongoing dispute, finally agreed to square up and find a compromise for the sake of community harmony.
Synonyms:
2
to make something square or even in shape
- The carpenter carefully measured and cut the wood to square up the frame of the new bookshelf.
- Before starting the construction project, the builders needed to square the foundation up to ensure stability.
- The artist used a ruler to help square up the edges of the canvas before beginning the painting.
- The gardener decided to square the flower bed up to create a more organized and symmetrical layout.
- The mason needed to square the tiles up to achieve a uniform pattern on the bathroom floor.
Synonyms:
3
to align the edges of a stack of paper, especially in the context of printing, to ensure uniformity
- In the world of offset printing, precision is crucial, and the technician meticulously squares up the paper to avoid any misalignment during the printing process.
- The printing press operator routinely checks and adjusts the machinery to ensure it squares up the paper accurately.
- As the final touch to the poster design, the artist decided to square up the edges for a clean and professional look.
- The print shop assistant carefully used a cutter to square up the edges of the freshly printed brochures.
- The final step in the bookbinding process is to square up the edges of the pages for a polished appearance.
4
to calm down, especially after a confrontation or tense situation
- After the argument, she told him to square up and stop yelling.
- Let's square up and talk about this calmly.
- I had to square up before responding to the criticism.
- It's time to square up and focus on the task at hand.
- He tried to square up after getting angry during the meeting.