park
park / pärk
noun 1. land, often preserved in a natural state, designated for public recreational use The scenic ideals that surround even our national parks are carriers of a nostalgia for heavenly bliss and eternal calmness. Robert Smithson, 1938 – 1973 2. an enclosed area used for playing sports; a sports stadium If people don't want to come out to the ball park, nobody's gonna stop 'em. Yogi Berra, 1925 – 2015 3. an area of land of attached to a country estate He has a noble palace, and a park of about three thousand acres, surrounded by a wall of hewn stone twenty feet high. From “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift, 1667 – 1745 4. a broad, relatively flat valley surrounded by mountains found in the western US Its [Timothy] natural home is along the northern edge of the cornbelt, northward far into Canada, throughout New England, the high parks of the Rocky Mountains with irrigation, and the rainy side of the Pacific Coast states. From “Meadows and Pastures” by Joseph Elwyn Wing, 1861 – 1915 5. an area designed and zoned for a specific purpose, such as an amusement park, industrial park, office park, etc. Disneyland is not just another amusement park. Walt Disney, 1901 – 1966 6. in an automatic transmission, the setting where the transmission is in neutral with no gears engaged and the brake is set Automatic cars have Park because it locks the transmission and along with the parking brake, acts as an additional safety system to prevent the vehicle from rolling while unattended. www.learn-automatic.com/tutorials/hand-foot-auxiliary-car-controls/neutral-and-park, accessed March 22, 2023 verb 1. to leave a car or vehicle in a set location for a period of time And I'm asking you for your good and for your nation's security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel. Jimmy Carter, 1924 - 2. to place in a steady orbit for a period of time We also have one parked in orbit ready to take over when the older satellite wears out after 5 or 10 years. Andre Dress, ? – , spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/space-place-live/text_version-008.html, accessed March 22, 2023 3. (informal) to leave or place in a location My parents used to park us kids at the public library in downtown Honolulu every Saturday. Bette Midler, 1945 – 4. to gather or assemble supplies or equipment in a specified area for military purposes All aircraft were brought in from revetments and camouflaged areas where they had been parked while on alert. “Pearl Harbor Day – The Way it Was part V”, www.army.mil/article/252414/pearl_harbor_day_the_way_it_was_part_v, accessed March 22, 2023 5. to maneuver a vehicle into a designated location When I'm in L.A. my husband always has to park the car for me, because I'm likely to hit something. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, 1973 - 6. (informal) to engage in kissing while in a stopped car, generally in a secluded location My boyfriend and I definitely learned our lesson and didn't go parking again...that is, until the following weekend. Joanna Goddard, “My Horribly Awkward Sexual Experience: "We Got Caught Parking..."”, ‘Glamour’, www.glamour.com/story/my-horribly-awkward-sexual-exp-9, March 2, 2009