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— John Milton

Say, Heavenly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein 15

Afford a present to the Infant God?

Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn strain,

To welcome him to this his new abode,

…

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noun

A way or means of approaching or entering; an entrance; a passage.

“Writers often choose access when discussing complex ideas.”

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Dictionary Entry

square off

Part of SpeechverbPronunciation/skwair awf/

To get ready for a fight or argument.

In a Sentence

“The two rivals squared off in the hallway, each waiting for the other to make the first move.”

Origin

From the verb “square” (to align) plus “off”, used in boxing to describe fighters taking opposite positions, recorded early 20th century.

Common Phrases

Still being gathered for this entry.

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Synonyms

prepare to fightbracereadyface offchallenge

Antonyms

avoid conflictmake peacereconcile

Related Words

square upsettledetermineslug it outcome to blowsinfightshadowboxshirt-front

Poetry examples for “square off”

Excerpts from the ReadingWillow English Library collection.

Poetry examples are still being gathered for this entry. They will appear here once matching poems are available in the library.