Squarely means directly, exactly, or right in the middle of something. When you look someone squarely in the eye, you're looking straight at them, not glancing away or down at your shoes. When a basketball hits the backboard squarely, it strikes dead center, not off to the side.

The word also means honestly and directly confronting something difficult. A student who faces a challenging math problem squarely doesn't avoid it or make excuses: they sit down and work through it. A leader who addresses criticism squarely listens to it honestly instead of deflecting blame onto others.

You might also hear someone say that responsibility falls squarely on their shoulders, meaning they accept complete ownership of a situation. When a team loses because of your mistake, the blame rests squarely with you, and when your hard work leads to success, the credit belongs squarely to you.