square away
The phrase "square away" is commonly used in American and Canadian English to describe the act of organizing, preparing, or resolving something.
Definition
B2General
(informal)To organize or arrange something neatly or properly.
Example
- I need to square away my desk before the meeting.
- Let's square away the details before we proceed.
B2General
(informal)To complete or finish a task or duty.
Example
- He squared away his assignments before the deadline.
- I squared away all my chores for the weekend.
B2General
(informal)To resolve or settle a problem or issue.
Example
- We need to square away this misunderstanding.
- The manager squared away the customer complaint quickly.
C1Nautical
(technical)To set the sails of a square-rigger at right angles to the keel, allowing the ship to sail directly before the wind.
Example
- The crew squared away the sails to catch the wind.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "square away":
square upstraighten outsquare offsort outstraighten upclear upsort oneself output awayclear outget rightput one's house in orderclear the decksall seteven outclear awayset squarepay offshape upfinish upclean upsmooth outfix upto rightsset asideclean outiron outtrue upround outtake care of businesstie upsettle downeven upcheck offlevel out