parallel park

American

[par-uh-lel pahrk] / ˈpær əˌlɛl ˈpɑrk /

verb

parallel parked, parallel parking

to park (a vehicle) so that its long side is parallel to a curb, shoulder, or other boundary rather than at an angle to it. When multiple vehicles are parallel parked, they are positioned end to end rather than side by side.

Vocabulary lists containing parallel-park

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His wife and son join him as his daughter struggles to parallel park outside.

From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2024

Despite her harsh warnings, my mother gave me a key to the family car and taught me how to parallel park our white Buick Riviera on the side streets of our suburban neighborhood.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2023

Car keys were a thing of the past—she operated her car using only her mind; she used her BCI to unlock the doors, start the engine, answer phone calls over the speaker, even parallel park.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2023

Allyssa Banks, 18, had gotten out of her car to help her boyfriend parallel park while the two were out on a date.

From Washington Post • Dec. 11, 2022

You’re supposed to do it by looking behind you, but I only knew how to parallel park using that camera!

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023