Definition of "plaza" []

• A public square or similar open area in a town or city. (noun)
• A widened roadway forming the approach to tollbooths on a highway. (noun)
• A parking or service area next to a highway. (noun)
• A shopping center. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The main plaza is gone, streets are in ruins, huge trees and walls fell in the storms, homes were destroyed, many people died and more are missing, and rebuilding will take months if not years."
• "How can you dislike a town whose main plaza is known as Marimba Park where free marimba concerts are held every weekend while locals sit around eating ice cream or drinking beer and enjoying the pleasant cool tropical evenings?"
• "Like most Mexican towns, its main plaza is centered by a bandstand."