Meaning & use
parking meter
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A machine on a street or in a lot that you put money into so you can leave your car there for a set time.
Grammar: Countable: one meter, two meters. Usually used with 'at' or 'in' when talking about paying.
Patterns
- put money in a parking meter
- park at a parking meter
- a parking meter expires
I put two dollars in the parking meter and walked to the bank.
If the parking meter runs out, you may get a ticket.
The city is replacing old parking meters with a phone app.
Word forms
| plural | parking meters |
|---|
Common combinations
- feed the parking meter
- Don't forget to feed the parking meter before the movie starts.
- parking meter runs out
- My parking meter runs out at three o'clock.
- parking meter ticket
- She got a parking meter ticket because she was ten minutes late.
- coin-operated parking meter
- The old coin-operated parking meters only take quarters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- meter
- A short form used when the situation makes it clear you mean a parking meter, as in 'Did you pay the meter?'
- parking kiosk
- A larger machine or booth where you pay for a whole lot or garage, not just one street space.
Word family
Commonly confused: parking meter or parking garage?
parking meter vs parking garage
A parking garage is a building where you leave a car; a parking meter is the machine that takes your money on the street.
Practice
You need to pay for street parking. Which sentence is most natural?
Choose one answer.
'In the parking meter' is the standard phrase because the coin goes inside the machine. 'On' suggests the coin sits on top, and 'at' or 'by' only show location, not payment.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “parking meter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.