park

park — noun

1. an open green space inside a city, with lawns, paths, and trees, where the publi

1.nounA1
Definition

an open green space inside a city, with lawns, paths, and trees, where the public can stroll, walk a dog, or let children run around for free.

Example

Every Saturday morning, Lina jogs three laps around Da'an Park.

collocation: jog/walk around the park

The children fed the ducks at the pond in Hyde Park.

collocation: in the park

Common collocations
  • public park
  • city park
  • stroll in the park
  • park bench
Synonyms
  • garden

    British public 'gardens' (e.g. Kensington Gardens) overlap; private 'garden' does not

  • green

    smaller open lawn, often in a village

  • common

    open public land in British towns, traditionally for grazing

Grammar Patterns

in the park

to the park

Usage Note

Subject is a town, neighborhood, or named city; the park is open to the general public, not private grounds.

Common Mistakes

I went to park yesterday.
I went to the park yesterday.
countable noun; needs 'the' or 'a' before it.
My family has a big park behind the house.
My family has a big garden behind the house.
a private green space at home is a 'garden' (UK) or 'yard' (US), not a 'park'.

2. a large piece of ground set aside for one specific kind of activity — for exampl

2.nounB1
Definition

a large piece of ground set aside for one specific kind of activity — for example, factories on an industrial park, rides on a theme park, or wildlife in a national park.

Example

Hsinchu Science Park is home to many computer-chip companies.

compound: science park

We spent two days exploring Yellowstone National Park last summer.

compound: national park

Common collocations
  • business park
  • industrial park
  • theme park
  • national park
  • science park
Synonyms
  • complex

    for buildings; emphasizes the cluster, not the land

  • estate

    British: industrial / housing estate

  • reserve

    for wildlife/nature; protection focus

Grammar Patterns

business park

industrial park

national park

theme park

Usage Note

Almost always appears in a fixed compound (national / industrial / business / theme / science / wildlife park); rarely used alone in this sense.

Common Mistakes

I went to the park to ride roller coasters.
I went to the theme park to ride roller coasters.
without a modifier, 'park' defaults to sense 1 (public garden).

3. a fenced piece of ground or stadium where a team plays a sport such as baseball,

3.nounB1
Definition

a fenced piece of ground or stadium where a team plays a sport such as baseball, football, or rugby in front of fans.

Example

Forty thousand fans packed the park to watch the final game.

collocation: pack the park

Marcus drove his son out to the ballpark for batting practice.

compound: ballpark

Common collocations
  • ballpark
  • out of the park
  • home park
  • park gates
Synonyms
  • stadium

    more general; covers any roofed or open arena

  • ground

    British: cricket ground, football ground

  • field

    the playing surface itself, not the whole venue

Grammar Patterns

at the park

ballpark

Usage Note

More common in American English (baseball: ballpark, Fenway Park) and in proper names of British football and rugby grounds. Distinguish from sense 1 — this is fenced and ticketed, not open to the public for a stroll.

Common Mistakes

Let's play catch in the park.' (intending a stadium)
Let's play catch at the ballpark.
bare 'park' near a city defaults to sense 1; use 'ballpark' or a proper name for the stadium sense.

4. the private grounds — lawns, woods, and fields — that surround a grand country h

4.nounB2
Definition

the private grounds — lawns, woods, and fields — that surround a grand country house in Britain, kept for the family's pleasure rather than for the public.

Example

Deer wander freely through the park of Chatsworth House.

the park of [grand house]

The dukes hunted foxes in the park behind the mansion every autumn.

collocation: hunt in the park

Common collocations
  • country park
  • deer park
  • park gates
  • park lodge
Synonyms
  • grounds

    more general; any land owned with a building

  • estate

    the whole property, including the house and farms

  • demesne

    literary / legal term for lands kept by the lord

Grammar Patterns

the park of [house]

Usage Note

Mostly British, often appears in 19th-century novels and tourism writing. Subject is typically a stately home, manor, or castle.

Common Mistakes

Marcus owns a small park behind his house.
Marcus owns a large garden behind his house.
only the grounds of a grand country estate are called a 'park' in this sense.

5. on an automatic car, the gear setting marked 'P' that locks the wheels so the ca

5.nounB2
Definition

on an automatic car, the gear setting marked 'P' that locks the wheels so the car cannot roll while the engine is on.

Example

Always shift into park before you take your foot off the brake.

collocation: shift into park

Maya left the engine running in park while she ran into the shop.

collocation: in park

Common collocations
  • shift into park
  • in park
  • put it in park
Synonyms
  • P

    the letter shown on the gear lever

Antonyms
  • drive

    the gear that lets the car move forward

  • neutral

    no gear engaged; wheels can still roll

Grammar Patterns

in park

shift into park

Usage Note

Used without an article and with no plural ('shift into park', not 'into a park'). Only on automatic transmissions; manual cars use the handbrake instead.

Common Mistakes

Put the car in the park.' (intending the gear)
Put the car in park.
no article in this sense; 'in the park' would mean parked beside a public garden.
Idioms

a walk in the park

idiom

Something that is very easy to do or handle.

For a skilled programmer, fixing this bug was a walk in the park.

Is the final exam going to be a walk in the park?

park — verb

Word family

  • parking
    nounA2
  • parked
    adjectiveB1
  • parker
    nounC1
  • car park
    nounA2
  • parkland
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four describe stopping a vehicle, but the manner and duration differ. 'Park' is the everyday word for stopping a car or bike and walking away from it — usually in a marked bay, on a street, or in a garage — for minutes or hours. 'Pull over' means stopping briefly at the side of the road, often because the police signaled, the driver felt sleepy, or a passenger needs to be let out; the engine usually stays on. 'Pull in' is the moment of turning off a road into a parking spot, driveway, or service area — it ends where 'park' begins. 'Leave' is general and unspecific: 'I left the car at the airport' tells you the result without saying how. Compare 'Marcus pulled over to take a phone call' (a brief, engine-on stop) with 'Marcus parked outside the bakery' (a longer, engine-off stop with the driver gone).

park ↗pull over ↗pull in ↗leave

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • park the car
  • park illegally
  • find a place to park
  • nowhere to park
  • park free of charge

Prepositions

Etymology

GermanicOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

The noun comes through Old French 'parc', meaning an enclosed piece of ground for hunting, from a Germanic root linked to a fenced enclosure. It entered English around 1300 to describe a royal hunting ground; only by the 1600s did it widen to the public garden we picture today. The verb 'to park' grew out of military slang in the 1600s — soldiers 'parked' cannon and wagons in a designated open area — and from there spread to leaving any vehicle, eventually any object, in a holding spot. The figurative business sense ('park the issue') is twentieth-century office English, borrowing the same image of leaving something temporarily out of the way.