An Americanism dating back to 1865–70
How does national-park compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At least three people have died after a vehicle collided with an elephant in a national park in Uganda, officials have said.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Biologists and national park staff wearing masks and gloves set up dozens of small rectangular metal cages on trails outside Ushuaia as night fell.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
Even before the summer rush, California’s most visited national park is seeing big crowds — the most people in a decade, according to National Park System data.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
In 2021, Parks Canada, which oversees the national park, was working out whether to try to save them by investing some $24 million in a major caribou breeding program.
From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026
Shenandoah National Park has just eight huts, each able to accommodate no more than eight people in comfort, ten at a pinch, in 101 miles of national park.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
