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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

When there’s been destruction of a park or a river, in violation of environmental law, the users of the park and the river have to be able to sue.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

A few weeks later in a town park, a woman began pelting my family with paper.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Coming in 2027 to the Valencia park will be Thrill Glider, a first of its kind thrill ride designed by coaster manufacturer Vekoma exclusively for Magic Mountain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Some of Wales' most endangered species are "at risk of vanishing" from an area of the country's largest national park, experts have warned.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

On the opposite side of the street from the park, there’s this gas station and mini-mart.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

He will also attend events at the US Ambassador to Ireland Ed Walsh's residence in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

He’s an incredible story, a former phenom from the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md., where his father, Frances Sr., worked in maintenance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The trio were leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance, the group that organised annual vigils in the city's Victoria Park.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

The statue, which was created by Los Angeles-based artist Adam Matano, will live at the Griffith Park Visitors Center, the National Wildlife Federation and Friends of Griffith Park announced in a Thursday news release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Because across the field of relaxing families, on the other side of the red and yellow bounce house, a black SUV is pulling into the parking lot of Evans Park.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Exercise options included familiar activities such as salsa and tango, along with outdoor group workouts in public parks.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

But even if runways and taxiways themselves are clear, and aircraft are able to fly without any difficulty, passengers may struggle to catch their flights if roads, railways or car parks are flooded.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

One of the city’s oldest parks, the downtown square between Olive and Hill streets was first dedicated in 1866 as La Plaza Abaja.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

The 38-year-old told AFP that Volkswagen was more than just an employer, pointing out that he spent childhood holidays in car parks, trying to spot if the Volkswagens there were made at home or elsewhere.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Our story begins in a city, with buildings and streets and bridges and parks.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

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

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

Unbelievably to them, Uttam's car, which he'd left parked in front of the garage was without a scratch and it started first time.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 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

“But this one stood out — it’s yellow, I’m parked by USC, a school, and it felt right,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

It sometimes takes me a while to learn new things, Celia said when we parked on that random side street.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Around noon on Aug. 28, Milpitas police responded to calls that an SUV had hit a woman in the parking area of an apartment complex.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The Sports Arena was ultimately demolished for BMO Stadium, and the proposed museum site shifted to surface parking lots elsewhere in Exposition Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Weeds are now pushing up through cracks in the empty parking lot.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Or who can find easy parking in Dumbo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The warm breeze sends dirty napkins and empty ketchup packets fluttering across the parking lot.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

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