From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsquare metre/mile etcsquare metre/mile etcTMan area of measurement equal to a square with sides a metre long, a mile long etc about four square metres of ground → square
Examples from the Corpus
square metre/mile etc• Having lived in Deptford all his life, Albie knew every jabber, snorter, speed-freak and pot-head in sixteen square miles.• This system was probably capable of supporting about 400 people per square mile.• It would cover four square miles and be the second biggest in the country.• The basins are scattered over 20,000 square miles and fed by underground rivers which extend through Nevada, Utah and California.• Researchers have found the soil to be infested with around 500 grubs per square metre instead of the usual five or so.• A square mile of orchards shows no sign of anyone picking anything.• The Buxton Springs are surrounded by 550 square miles of spectacular natural landscape.• Half a dozen females share a nest, a simple hollow within the square mile or so of a male's territory. 