park
/pɑːk
/noun
1A large public garden or area of land used for recreation: a walk round the park a country park...
- The most striking ones are connected with the illegal giveaway of some public parks and gardens, he said.
- Work includes care of public parks, gardens, painting of signs, sowing of flowers, shrubs, care of the graveyards, repair of paths etc.
- He would like to see more public parks and gardens where he could go to feed the ducks with his children; more facilities for younger people - and more child-friendly pubs.
Synonyms
public garden, recreation ground, playground, play area, public/municipal park
1.1A large enclosed piece of ground attached to a country house: the house is set in its own park
Synonyms
parkland, grassland, woodland, garden(s), lawns, grounds, estate
literary greensward
1.2 (also wildlife park) A large enclosed area of land used to accommodate wild animals in captivity: penguin chicks are reared regularly at the park a panda cub is drawing the crowds at a wildlife park...
- The residents will now make submissions on the upcoming review of the Naas Development Plan looking to have the wetlands area formalised as a wildlife park.
- It turned out that this was no ordinary deer, but a young orphan - appropriately enough, called Rain - who had been reared from birth by the good folks at Porfell Animal Land wildlife park, near Looe.
- The judges say the Town Park and the wildlife park in Glendowns are both providing opportunities for wildlife appreciation.
1.3British A children’s playground: Marcus had the park’s swings and slides to himself...
- It was a beautiful day and I decided to take the kids to the park.
- Um, one thing, not a good idea to take kids to the park and spin on things straight after ice creams.
- He saw her alone at the park, sitting on the swings.
1.4 (the park) British informal (In soccer) the pitch: he was the liveliest player on the park...
- His presence was enough to send opposing fans into a frenzy - one of the true bad boys of soccer on the park.
- After the break, however, England came more to the fore in the centre of the park and the Rovers midfielder spent most of the half on the back foot as his team came under siege.
- Solidity in the centre of the park is supplied through Smith's conversion into a midfielder, a role where he did not expect to perform.
Synonyms
playing field, football field, field, pitch
1.5North American An enclosed sports ground.Not to mention he accomplished this playing his home games in Yankee Stadium, a difficult park for righthanded hitters....
- The Southern League has favored pitching dramatically of late, though the Georgia outfielders will be playing in historically neutral parks.
- The ball had plenty of depth to reach the park's famed left field fence.
2 [with adjective or noun modifier] An area devoted to a specified purpose: an industrial park...
- Plans came and went that included high-rise apartments and an amusement theme park, however nothing materialised.
- A series of pilots are set to begin at regional and national theme parks.
- In the amusement parks on the outskirts of Chennai, huge crowds queue for a water ride.
2.1 [with modifier] chiefly British An area for motor vehicles to be left in: a coach park...
- Union Terrace car park will lose more than half its existing spaces so a new coach park and toilet facilities can be built.
- The sports hall, bowling green and coach park is likely to be lost, and council officers are already looking at the possibility of moving them elsewhere in the city.
- Householders and traders fear that a move to relocate a city centre coach park in York will trigger a spiral of decline in a street which has been revived after years of planning blight.
3 [mass noun] (In a car with automatic transmission) the position of the gear selector in which the gears are locked, preventing the vehicle’s movement.I jammed the gear shift into park and jumped out of the car, wiping my pants off....
- He struggled to push the gear shifter into park, but he finally heard and felt the needle click over to the large P.
- She turned the key, the engine letting off a bit of a rumble, than she shifted the car from park to first gear, and turned it back around.
verb [with object]
1Bring (a vehicle that one is driving) to a halt and leave it temporarily, typically in a car park or by the side of the road: he parked his car outside her house [no object]: he couldn’t find anywhere to park...
- The car park of Morrisons often suffers from overflow car parking with shoppers having to park on side roads close to Morrisons which creates more congested local roads.
- Does free parking mean one can park vehicles anywhere and on any road?
- Police have been using the Polebarn Road offices to park vehicles since May.
Synonyms
leave, station, position;
stop, pull up
1.1 [with object and adverbial of place] informal Leave (something) in a convenient place until required: come on in, and park your bag by the door...
- Equally, if Stringer was lost for any period of time then you could park any notions of grandeur until he returned.
- Which is sweet of them, except that these crèches are not to park your baby in - they're for men.
- I need to do a nifty leftward swerve right where you've parked your eight year old child!
Synonyms
put, put down, place, deposit, set, set down, leave, stick, shove, dump, plump
informal plonk, plunk
British informal bung
1.2 (park oneself) informal Sit down: after dinner, we parked ourselves on a pair of couches...
- At the start of a routine home fixture he parks himself in a seat high in Ibrox's Main Stand.
- I promptly told my mind to shut up and strolled across the floor to the bar, parking myself in a seat.
- At the command every student in the room hurriedly parked themselves in their specific seats and waited for instructions from the teacher, Madame Besson.
Synonyms
sit down, seat oneself, settle (oneself), install oneself, plant oneself, ensconce oneself, plump oneself, plop oneself, flump, perch
informal plonk oneself
1.3 informal Postpone consideration of (an idea or plan) until a later date: could I suggest we park that suggestion for the moment?...
- The government parked the idea by referring it to an all-party committee looking at the reform of the structures of the Oireachtas.
- Fearful of another damaging "Tax Bombshell" campaign by the Tories, Brown parked the idea until after the next election.
- The issues were parked for reference to the Law Commission.
Phrases
park the bus
Origin
Middle English: from Old French parc, from medieval Latin parricus, of Germanic origin; related to German Pferch 'pen, fold', also to paddock. The word was originally a legal term designating land held by royal grant for keeping game animals: this was enclosed and therefore distinct from a forest or chase, and (also unlike a forest) had no special laws or officers. A military sense 'space occupied by artillery, wagons, stores, etc., in an encampment' (late 17th century) is the origin of the verb sense (mid 19th century) and of sense 2 of the noun (early 20th century).
Park is from Old French parc, from medieval Latin parricus. It is probably of Germanic origin, related to German Pferch ‘pen, fold’, which is also the source of paddock (mid 16th century). The word was originally a legal term for land held by royal grant for the keeping of game animals: the area was enclosed and therefore distinct from a forest or chase, and (also unlike a forest) had no special laws or officers. A military sense ‘space occupied by artillery, wagons, and stores, in an encampment’ (late 17th century) is the origin of the verb ‘to park’ (mid 19th century). The British slang term parky, ‘cold’, dates from the 1890s. It probably comes from perky, ‘lively, sharp’ (see perk).