What does "ghetto" mean?
An (often walled) area of a city in which Jews are concentrated by force and law. (Used particularly of areas in medieval Italy and in Nazi-controlled Europe.)
Ghetto
/ˈɡɛ.təʊ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An (often walled) area of a city in which Jews are concentrated by force and law. (Used particularly of areas in medieval Italy and in Nazi-controlled Europe.)
- Grammar: ghetto is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: barrio, black ghetto, blighted area, bowery.
- Useful contrasts: affluent, affluent district, formal.
- Usage evidence: The ghetto in this town is dangerous at night.
How to use "ghetto"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ghetto" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ghetto" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ghetto" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ghetto" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ghetto" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "barrio" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ghetto", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An (often walled) area of a city in which Jews are concentrated by force and law. (Used particularly of areas in medieval Italy and in Nazi-controlled Europe.)
"The Venetian ghetto, according to Sennett, was to provide protection from the unclean bodies of the Jews and their sullying touch. The Roman ghetto, on the other hand, was planned as an area for mission. It was supposed to collect the Jews in one place, so that it would be easier to convert them."
- 2 a poor densely populated city district occupied by a minority ethnic group linked together by economic hardship and social restrictions wordnet
- 3 An (often impoverished) area of a city inhabited predominantly by members of a specific nationality, ethnicity, or race.
"Charlestown would also become one of Boston's three large Irish ghettoes."
- 4 formerly the restricted quarter of many European cities in which Jews were required to live wordnet
- 5 An area in which people who are distinguished by sharing something other than ethnicity concentrate or are concentrated.
"Counterhegemonic spaces imagined as bounded territories ensure that heteronormativity is fixed beyond the borders of the gay ghetto. The rural and suburban lives of lesbian and gay people are made invisible and signified as inauthentic."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 any segregated mode of living or working that results from bias or stereotyping wordnet
- 7 An isolated, self-contained, segregated subsection, area or field of interest; often of minority or specialist interest. derogatory, figuratively, sometimes
"Abraham Merritt wrote for the pulps and never in his lifetime achieved critical success. Yet he had a devoted following in the science fiction ghetto who admired the clarity of his style and his power to evoke moods."
Verb
- 1 To confine (a specified group of people) to a ghetto. transitive
"This is, in brief, a part of the story of the ghettoing of a large segment of Denver's Negro population."
Adjective
- 1 Of or relating to a ghetto or to ghettos in general.
"Those residing in ghetto communities were particularly ill equipped to adapt to the seismic changes taking place in the U.S. economy; they were left isolated and jobless."
- 2 Unseemly and indecorous or of low quality; cheap; shabby, crude. informal, slang
"My apartment's so ghetto, the rats and cockroaches filed a complaint with the city!"
- 3 Characteristic of the style, speech, or behavior of residents of a predominantly black or other ghetto in the United States. US, derogatory, informal, offensive, often
"The music I liked was very ghetto and gritty. It was the stuff that didn't really cross over much, but spoke to a roots black experience. People don't understand this now, but the falsetto, crying singers were the most ghetto back then."
- 4 Having been raised in a ghetto in the United States.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The ghetto in this town is dangerous at night."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ghetto"?
Common synonyms include: barrio, black ghetto, blighted area, bowery, business district, central city.
How do you use "ghetto" in a sentence?
The ghetto in this town is dangerous at night.
How do you pronounce "ghetto"?
Pronounced /ˈɡɛ.təʊ/.
Etymology
Borrowed from the name of the Venetian Ghetto, whose etymology and original source language is uncertain. Compare Italian ghetto.