Meaning & use
park up
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Meanings
phraseintransitiveBritishinformal
To stop a vehicle and leave it standing in a place, especially at the end of a journey.
Grammar: No object: you park up somewhere, and the car is the thing that ends up parked.
Patterns
- park up outside something
- park up for the night
- park up and go inside
We parked up outside the hotel and carried our bags in.
The truck drivers park up for the night at a service station on the highway.
Just park up anywhere along this street; the meters are free after six.
phrasetransitiveBritishinformal
To put a vehicle in a particular place and leave it there for a while.
Grammar: Takes an object, which usually goes after 'up': park the van up near the gate.
Patterns
- park something up somewhere
- park up a car
She parked the van up behind the shop while she unloaded the boxes.
He parked his bike up against the wall and locked it.
Common combinations
- park up for the night
- We found a quiet spot and parked up for the night.
- park up outside
- A taxi parked up outside the front door.
- park up and walk
- Let's park up and walk the rest of the way.
- park up somewhere safe
- Make sure you park up somewhere safe before it gets dark.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pull over
- Use this for stopping at the side of the road briefly, often while staying in the car; 'park up' suggests leaving the vehicle there.
- park
- The plain verb is more neutral and works in both British and American English; 'park up' sounds chatty and mainly British.
- pull in
- This means entering a place such as a lay-by or garage to stop; 'park up' focuses on the vehicle being left in position.
Opposites
Word family
- parking noun
- the act of leaving a vehicle somewhere, or the space for doing it
- parked adjective
- describing a vehicle that is standing in a place, not moving
- car park noun
- British term for an area where cars may be left
Commonly confused: park up or parking?
park up vs parking
'Parking' is the activity or the space; 'park up' is the action of stopping and leaving the vehicle.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'park up' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Park up' is followed by a place expression, not by an object like 'the hotel', and it does not take 'to' or 'for' before the destination. Option 1 gives the natural pattern 'park up outside + place'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “park up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.