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Synonyms

parking lot

American  

noun

  1. an area, usually divided into individual spaces, intended for parking motor vehicles.

parking lot British  

noun

  1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): car park.  an area or building reserved for parking cars

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of parking lot

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

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.

Seizing the opportunity, the researchers stopped at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and set up their equipment in a parking lot.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026

While the first season, released in 2023, followed a row between strangers after a prang in a parking lot, the second focuses on bust-ups between people who are closer to home.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

A pilot was hospitalized Monday after crashing his small plane in the parking lot of an auto store in Pacoima, according to authorities.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

At lunch, I spoke to Jillian Rooney of the Crop Disaster Recovery group, which had a tent set up in the parking lot.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

I slow to a jog in the parking lot.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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.