parking meter

American  

noun

1. a mechanical device for registering and collecting payment for the length of time that a vehicle occupies a parking space, consisting typically of a timer, actuated by a coin that a driver deposits upon parking, set in a headpiece mounted on a pole.

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parking meter British  

noun

1. a timing device, usually coin-operated, that indicates how long a vehicle may be left parked

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Etymology

Origin of parking meter

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The parking meter doesn’t get a lot of purchase in pop culture.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2025

Dismissing the claim, Deputy District Judge Nathan Smith said the contract between Excel and Mr Barton "was not concluded until he read the terms and conditions next to the parking meter".

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2025

“He arrived at the intersection of American history, where he put a quarter in the parking meter of destiny, leaving the car, looking to avoid stepping in the urine puddle of jurisprudence.”

From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2024

In 2008, in order to offset a budget crisis, the city council leased the parking meter system to a company called Chicago Parking Meters LLC, owned by Morgan Stanley and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

From Salon • Jan. 21, 2024

Since its installation two years before, however, the parking meter had rarely collected dimes.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols