parking

American  

[par-king] / ˈpær kɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that parks, especially a vehicle.

2. space in which to park vehicles, as at a place of business or a public event.

   There's plenty of free parking at the stadium.

3. permission to park vehicles.

   Is there parking on this side of the street?

4. the activity or occupation of a person who operates or works in a parking lot, garage, or the like.

5. parking strip.

6. Informal. the act of kissing and caressing in a parked car.

   Some of the couples went parking on their way home from the dance.

---

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, used for, or engaged in parking, especially of vehicles.

   parking regulations; a parking ticket; a parking space; a parking attendant.

Other Word Forms

• unparking adjective

Etymology

Origin of parking

First recorded in 1520–30; park + -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

As the school bus wheezes into the Foodland parking lot, I spot a dark fleck high in the sky.

From Literature

At the intersection of the road and the river, in the parking lot where they had left it the day before, they found Buzz’s pickup truck, “mashed lengthwise by a tree,” he remembered.

From Literature

She said that as she was about to turn into the parking lot, another car sped in front of her, forcing her to stop.

From Los Angeles Times

"We had public parking available for the first time in my life all across 26th Street," Rodriguez says.

From BBC

We sat on the apron of the Rosebud Motel, looking across the muddy parking lot to where fans were gathered on the road above.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• embracing