diff --git a/base/linalg.jl b/base/linalg.jl
index e463f50f17b33..d1db182cbe61a 100644
--- a/base/linalg.jl
+++ b/base/linalg.jl
@@ -174,6 +174,12 @@ function chkstride1(A::StridedVecOrMat...)
 end
 
 #Check that matrix is square
+function chksquare(A::AbstractMatrix)
+    m,n = size(A)
+    m == n || throw(DimensionMismatch("Matrix is not square"))
+    m
+end
+
 function chksquare(A...)
     sizes=Int[]
     for a in A