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• park
  park

  noun

  an area of land, usually in a largely natural state, for the enjoyment of the public, having facilities for rest and recreation, often owned, set apart, and managed by a city, state, or nation.
• Park
  Park

  noun

  Mungo 1771–1806?, Scottish explorer in Africa.

park

¹ American  

[pahrk] / pɑrk /

noun

• parks
  plural

1. an area of land, usually in a largely natural state, for the enjoyment of the public, having facilities for rest and recreation, often owned, set apart, and managed by a city, state, or nation.

2. an enclosed area or a stadium used for sports.

   a baseball park.

3. a considerable extent of land forming the grounds of a country house.

4. British. a tract of land reserved for wild animals; game preserve.

5. Western U.S. a broad valley in a mountainous region.

6. a space where vehicles, especially automobiles, may be assembled or stationed.

7. amusement park.

8. theme park.

9. any area set aside for public recreation.

10. Military.

    1. the space occupied by the assembled guns, tanks, or vehicles of a military unit.

    2. the assemblage so formed.

    3. (formerly) the ammunition trains and reserve artillery of an army.

11. Automotive. a setting in an automatic transmission in which the transmission is in neutral and the brake is engaged.

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verb (used with object)

• parks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• parked,
  past participle,  past
• parking
  present participle

1. to place or leave (a vehicle) in a certain place for a period of time.

2. Informal. to put, leave, or settle.

   Park your coat on the chair. Park yourself over there for a moment.

3. to assemble (equipment or supplies) in a military park.

4. to enclose in or as in a park.

5. Informal. to invest (funds) in a stock, bond, etc., considered to be a safe investment with little chance of depreciation, as during a recession or an unstable economic period, or until one finds a more profitable investment.

6. Aerospace. to place (a satellite) in orbit.

verb (used without object)

• parks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• parked,
  past participle,  past
• parking
  present participle

1. to park a car, bicycle, etc.

2. Informal. to engage in kissing and caressing in a parked car.

Park ² American  

[pahrk] / pɑrk /

noun

1. Mungo 1771–1806?, Scottish explorer in Africa.

2. Robert E., 1864–1944, U.S. sociologist.

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park ¹ British  

/ pɑːk /

noun

1. a large area of land preserved in a natural state for recreational use by the public See also national park

2. a piece of open land in a town with public amenities

3. an area, esp of mountain country, reserved for recreational purposes

4. a large area of land forming a private estate

5. English law an enclosed tract of land where wild beasts are protected, acquired by a subject by royal grant or prescription Compare forest

6. an area designed and landscaped to accommodate a group of related enterprises, businesses, research establishments, etc

   science park

7. See amusement park

8. See car park

9. a playing field or sports stadium

10. informal a soccer pitch

11. a gear selector position on the automatic transmission of a motor vehicle that acts as a parking brake

12. the area in which the equipment and supplies of a military formation are assembled

13. a high valley surrounded by mountains in the western US

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verb

1. to stop and leave (a vehicle) temporarily

2. to manoeuvre (a motor vehicle) into a space for it to be left

   try to park without hitting the kerb

3. stock exchange to register (securities) in the name of another or of nominees in order to conceal their real ownership

4. informal (tr) to leave or put somewhere

   park yourself in front of the fire

5. (intr) military to arrange equipment in a park

6. (tr) to enclose in or as a park

Park ² British  

/ pɑːk /

noun

1. Mungo (ˈmʌŋɡəʊ). 1771–1806, Scottish explorer. He led two expeditions (1795–97; 1805–06) to trace the course of the Niger in Africa. He was drowned during the second expedition

2. Nick, full name Nicholas Wulstan Park. born 1958, British animator and film director; his films include A Grand Day Out (1992), which introduced the characters Wallace and Gromit, and the feature-length Chicken Run (2000)

3. Chung Hee. (ˈtʃʊŋ ˈhiː). 1917–79, South Korean politician; president of the Republic of Korea (1963–79); assassinated

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• parker
  noun
• superpark
  noun
• overpark
  verb
• repark
  verb
• parklike
  adjective
• unparked
  adjective
• well-parked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parks
  plural

Participles

• parking
  present
• parked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• park
  simple
• parks
  simple
• have parked
  perfect
• has parked
  perfect
• am parking
  progressive
• are parking
  progressive
• is parking
  progressive
• have been parking
  perfect progressive
• has been parking
  perfect progressive

Past

• parked
  simple
• had parked
  perfect
• was parking
  progressive
• were parking
  progressive
• had been parking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will park
  simple
• will have parked
  perfect
• will be parking
  progressive
• will have been parking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of park

1225–75; Middle English (noun) < Old French parc enclosure < Late Latin *parricus < West Germanic *parruk ( see paddock ¹)

Explanation

A park is an outdoor green space that people use for recreation. People can also park a car, which is to pull into a parking space and stop. Just don’t park your car in a park. Unless you’re a squirrel. A city park usually has playgrounds, sports fields, walking paths, grass, and trees. There are also larger tracts of wild public land also known as parks, and these often have hiking trails, mountains, or bodies of water. Park is a verb too, meaning "drive into a parking space," so you could park your scooter at the park. Originally this verb referred exclusively to military vehicles, but by 1844 you could park any vehicle at all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

park Park parks parked parking

An impersonator may have tricked a Las Vegas nightclub last year, but those at the park Tuesday appeared convinced of their brush with Bieber.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Nathan Hochman on Tuesday night pointed to the “Yukon” clip as proof that park conditions were improving.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

The company sold seven noncore parks to EPR Properties EPR 0.71%increase; up pointing triangle and closed another park in Maryland after the 2025 season.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The BBC understands the two additional blocks were to protect the grassed area and trees from unauthorised parking and damage once the car park entrance is opened.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

She’s fretting over things that she believes to be important, like whether or not she should go to the park with her friends.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

But to open Eleven Madison Park and Tabla, fraternal twin restaurants in MetLife’s landmarked 11 Madison building, I had had to take on significant outside investment for the first time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Wingham Wildlife Park near Canterbury has taken some of the wild population to breed and release into the wild.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

In 2009, Eleven Madison Park was having a moment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Richie was hospitalized for the second time this summer after performing at St. Louis’ Muny in Forest Park in late August.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

But often enough, Dr. Kane ushered Maggie and her mother in his carriage to visit the famous sights of his hometown: Independence Hall, Fairmount Park, and the US Mint.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Six Flags has been working to turn around its business as fewer guests visit its parks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The plan includes 25 acres of publicly accessible open space that supports uses such as parks, plazas, walking and biking trails, recreation centers and picnic areas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

State parks officials said in a release that the improvement project includes installation of new gas, water, wastewater and communication lines, along with accessibility upgrades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

In California, Disneyland Resort introduced deals including free “park hopping” between its two theme parks for kids between the ages of three and nine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Sometimes Grub and I flew with him to visit one of Tanzania’s other national parks.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

Karl struggles to weave The Beast past a row of parked cars.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Government cars were parked on the former thoroughfare of Pennsylvania Avenue.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

They climbed into a box truck outfitted with a trap door that was parked over the manhole.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

The jet then tore through a perimeter fence, bashing an SUV traveling on a public road and hitting a second fence line separating an area where robotaxis were parked, she said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

Jackson slipped behind a parked car and squatted down behind it.

From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis

There is also a second four-stall barn, a 5,400-square-foot turnout area, a private gate, and enough parking for more than 10 vehicles.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

Bundled and boarded up, the lantern inched across the parking lot on the back of a flatbed truck that climbed a ring road steep enough to cause concern.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

"They have experienced problems at previous events including noise, parking problems, and anti-social behaviour."

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The aircraft came down in a parking lot near a self-storage facility in Chatsworth, a community in the San Fernando Valley.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

I look around the park for the agents, but Dad and Aunt Melissa must have redirected them to the parking lot.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• estate
• forest
• garden
• lawn
• place
• playground
• plaza
• square