Parks

[ pahrks ]

/ pɑrks /

noun

Gordon (Alexander Buchanan),1912–2006, U.S. photojournalist and film director.

RosaRosa Louise McCauley, 1913–2006, U.S. civil rights leader.

Definition for parks (2 of 2)

park

[ pahrk ]

/ pɑrk /

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.

an enclosed area or a stadium used for sports: a baseball park.

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

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

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

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

amusement park.

theme park.

any area set aside for public recreation.

Military.

the space occupied by the assembled guns, tanks, or vehicles of a military unit.
the assemblage so formed.
(formerly) the ammunition trains and reserve artillery of an army.

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

verb (used with object)

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

Informal. to put, leave, or settle: Park your coat on the chair. Park yourself over there for a moment.

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

to enclose in or as in a park.

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.

Aerospace. to place (a satellite) in orbit.

verb (used without object)

to park a car, bicycle, etc.

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

Origin of park

1225–75; Middle English (noun) < Old French parc enclosure < Late Latin *parricus < West Germanic *parruk (see paddock¹)

Related forms

park·er, nounpark·like, adjectiveo·ver·park, verbre·park, verb

su·per·park, nounun·parked, adjectivewell-parked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for parks

There are parks filled with men pushing strollers and coffee shops where fathers meet their friends, babes in arms.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As anybody who has seen his now famous rant on Parks and Recreation knows, Patton Oswalt can get a little obsessed.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Paying for all those pensions inevitably means less money for parks and schools.
How Public Sector Unions Divide the Democrats|Daniel DiSalvo|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In January 2014, a lifelong District of Columbia parks employee, Medric Mills, collapsed while walking with his grown daughter.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

So there is nothing wrong with using the charms of, say, Parks and Recreation, to create some solid bonding time.
Binge Watching is the New Bonding Time|The Daily Beast|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If the school is in the city, pupils may be taken to the parks for this purpose.
Home Geography For Primary Grades|C. C. Long
He is the god of this country; half the inns and parks and streets are named after him and his story.
The Innocence of Father Brown|G. K. Chesterton
The visitor to Paris is immediately impressed by the magnificence of the city's boulevards, parks and public squares.
The Old World and Its Ways|William Jennings Bryan
Not just in parks,—parks are good enough for cats,—but in real fields!
Fairy Prince and Other Stories|Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
Alice quite acquiesced in this, having no great desire to be driven through the parks in the gloom of a February afternoon.
Can You Forgive Her?|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for parks (1 of 2)

Park

/ (pɑːk) /

noun

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

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)

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

British Dictionary definitions for parks (2 of 2)

park

/ (pɑːk) /

noun

a large area of land preserved in a natural state for recreational use by the publicSee also national park

a piece of open land in a town with public amenities

NZ an area, esp of mountain country, reserved for recreational purposes

a large area of land forming a private estate

English law an enclosed tract of land where wild beasts are protected, acquired by a subject by royal grant or prescriptionCompare forest (def. 5)

an area designed and landscaped to accommodate a group of related enterprises, businesses, research establishments, etcscience park

US and Canadian See amusement park

US, Canadian and NZ See car park

US and Canadian a playing field or sports stadium

the park British informal a soccer pitch

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

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

a high valley surrounded by mountains in the western US

verb

to stop and leave (a vehicle) temporarily

to manoeuvre (a motor vehicle) into a space for it to be lefttry to park without hitting the kerb

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

(tr) informal to leave or put somewherepark yourself in front of the fire

(intr) military to arrange equipment in a park

(tr) to enclose in or as a park

Derived Formsparklike, adjective

Word Origin for park

C13: from Old French parc, from Medieval Latin parricus enclosure, from Germanic; compare Old High German pfarrih pen, Old English pearruc paddock 1

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

Word Origin and History for parks (1 of 2)

park

mid-13c., "enclosed preserve for beasts of the chase," from Old French parc "enclosed wood or heath land used as a game preserve" (12c.), probably ultimately from West Germanic *parruk "enclosed tract of land" (cf. Old English pearruc, root of paddock (n.2), Old High German pfarrih "fencing about, enclosure," German pferch "fold for sheep," Dutch park).

Internal evidence suggests the West Germanic word is pre-4c. and originally meant the fencing, not the place enclosed. Found also in Medieval Latin as parricus "enclosure, park" (8c.), which likely is the direct source of the Old French word, as well as Italian parco, Spanish parque, etc. Some claim the Medieval Latin word as the source of the West Germanic, but the reverse seems more likely. Some later senses in English represent later borrowings from French. OED discounts notion of a Celtic origin. Welsh parc, Gaelic pairc are from English.

Meaning "enclosed lot in or near a town, for public recreation" is first attested 1660s, originally in reference to London; the sense evolution is via royal parks in the original, hunting sense being overrun by the growth of London and being opened to the public. Applied to sporting fields in American English from 1867.

New York's Park Avenue as an adjective meaning "luxurious and fashionable" (1956) was preceded in the same sense by London's Park Lane (1880). As a surname, Parker "keeper of a park" is attested in English from mid-12c. As a vehicle transmission gear, park (n.) is attested from 1949.

Word Origin and History for parks (1 of 2)

park

1812, "to arrange military vehicles in a park," from park (n.) in a limited sense of "enclosure for military vehicles" (attested from 1680s). General non-military meaning "to put (a vehicle) in a certain place" is first recorded 1844. Related: Parked; parking. Park-and-ride is from 1966.

Parks

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Definition for parks (2 of 2)

park

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of park

Examples from the Web for parks

British Dictionary definitions for parks (1 of 2)

Park

noun

British Dictionary definitions for parks (2 of 2)

park

noun

verb

Word Origin for park

Word Origin and History for parks (1 of 2)

park

Word Origin and History for parks (1 of 2)

park