How to Use square up in a Sentence

square up

verb
  • Who can square up to Hopkins in that clever craft?
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • But squaring up the Dodgers’ starters will not be easy.
    — Andy McCullough, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Not much squaring up going on against him.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 May 2026
  • Then, the two squared up and started to throw punches.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Started squaring up the ball a little bit more.
    — Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 19 May 2026
  • When the two groups squared up that day, things seemed to be taking a less violent turn at first.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The wood chisel is used to square up the two inside corners of the mortise.
    — Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 3 Jan. 2026
  • The Ducks had squared up the score by way of a funky goal from Gauthier.
    — Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Landon Feltham tried to square up on a bouncing ball, but could not get off a solid shot.
    — Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 15 Jan. 2026
  • On the next possession, Brooks squared up Williams once again on the right side of the court.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Osimhen squared up to his team-mate and started pointing in Lookman’s face.
    — Jay Harris, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Fans, however, will have to get used to seeing their favorite teammates square up against each other on the court.
    — Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
  • George Best and Michael Caine reportedly squared up there.
    — Nick Scott, Robb Report, 13 June 2026
  • At that point, Stewart sprinted from Detroit’s bench and squared up with Bridges.
    — Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Four actors sit in chairs squared up to the lip of the stage and recount their intersecting lives and deaths from what seems to be the future.
    — Christopher Bonanos, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Duke and Connecticut squared up for the final spot with 11 titles between them.
    — Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026
  • On this day in 1859, humankind squared up against Niagara Falls for the first time.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 June 2026
  • These teams have squared up six times this century, with none of those games having been carried in a national TV slot.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Records During a one-point game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander squared up guard Christian Braun.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
  • His ability to just square up everything and hit it 110 (mph) on a consistent basis is impressive to watch.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 28 May 2026
  • The following day, the team will square up against Turks and Caicos for their second and final matchup in the Outrigger Cup.
    — Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Actually, the Rockies have never squared up Glasnow.
    — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Last season, Walker ranked in the second percentile at squaring up pitches and the fifth percentile in making contact on the sweet spot with the ideal launch angle.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 12 June 2026
  • Jaylen Waddle and Pat Surtain II may never actually square up in the ring.
    — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026
  • With a good-looking frame and lower-body athleticism, Smith does an outstanding job keeping his feet beneath him to square up defenders, extend his arms and use his grip strength to control his man.
    — Dane Brugler, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Make catches in traffic and squaring up blocking attempts on defenders even if he’s forbidden from pile-driving them into the ground, WWE style.
    — Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Freshman infielder Bri Alejandre squared up and smashed a home run over the center-field wall to give UCLA the lead in the second inning.
    — Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2026
  • Genesis, meanwhile, comes after the Supernova Strikers amateur boxing event, which saw celebs and streamers squaring up.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Cole Young walked to open the seventh inning before Garver squared up a 1-0 sinker from Nick Mears (2-3) and launched a 406-foot shot to left field.
    — ABC News, 22 May 2026
  • Green also held Alperen Şengün (5-for-12) and Pascal Siakam (1-for-5) when squared up against those opposing All-Stars.
    — Nick Friedell, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'square up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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