exclave

noun ex·clave \ ˈek-ˌsklāv , -ˌskläv \

|Updated on: 24 Jul 2018

Definition of exclave

: a portion of a country separated from the main part and constituting an enclave in respect to the surrounding territory

exclave was our Word of the Day on 06/12/2008. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of exclave from the Web

Englishmen who couldn't find flights were arriving in the Russian exclave by bus from neighboring Poland and reported several security checks and delays around the border.

— rob harris, Fox News, "Loophole exposed to get easier entry to World Cup in Russia," 28 June 2018
The 40-mile-wide corridor is hemmed in by the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on one side and Belarus, a Russian ally, on the other.

— michael birnbaum, Washington Post, "How U.S. troops could get stuck in a traffic jam on their way to fend off war with Russia," 24 June 2018
The corridor is sandwiched between the heavily militarized Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow’s ally Belarus, and is considered NATO’s weak spot on its eastern flank.

— eric schmitt, New York Times, "In Eastern Europe, U.S. Military Girds Against Russian Might and Manipulation," 27 June 2018
The Lithuanian government has strongly objected to two nuclear power plants being built by Rosastom in Belarus, south of the Baltic country, and in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which shares a border with Lithuania, among others.

— Fox News, "Lithuanian lawmaker resigns after surviving impeachment vote," 14 Mar. 2018
Kaliningrad, which will host four World Cup matches this month, is a peculiar Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea.

— ross kenneth urken, The New Republic, "Playing Geopolitics With the World Cup," 5 June 2018
The lucrative deal in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave between Lithuania and Poland, went to the company of Aras Agalarov, who is one of Russia’s wealthiest men.

— andrew e. kramer, New York Times, "Russian City’s Dazzling New Soccer Stadium Outshines Its Team," 27 May 2018
So what's the world's largest true exclave, a landlocked one?

— ken jennings, Condé Nast Traveler, "People Have Been Arguing About Nakhchivan Since 'The Flood'," 21 May 2018
Voting will conclude at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT; 2 p.m. EDT) in Kaliningrad, the Baltic exclave that is Russia’s westernmost region.

— Washington Post, "Russia votes as Vladimir Putin eyes 4th presidential term," 18 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exclave.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

You probably won't be surprised to learn that the key to "exclave" is found in "enclave." "Enclave" itself ultimately derives from the Latin word for "key," which is "clavis." It was adopted in the mid-19th century from Middle French enclaver ("to enclose"), which in turn derives (through Vulgar Latin) from in- and clavis. "Exclave" was formed about twenty years later by combining the prefix ex- and the "-clave" of "enclave." Other "clavis" descendants in English include "autoclave," "clavicle," "conclave," and "clavichord" ("an early keyboard instrument in use before the piano").