ghetto

noun ghet·to \ ˈge-(ˌ)tō \

Updated on: 13 May 2018

Definition of ghetto

plural ghettos also ghettoes

1 : a quarter of a city in which Jews were formerly required to live

2 : a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure

3 a : an isolated group

a geriatric ghetto

b : a situation that resembles a ghetto especially in conferring inferior status or limiting opportunity

the pink-collar ghetto

See ghetto defined for English-language learners

See ghetto defined for kids

Examples of ghetto in a Sentence

He grew up in the ghetto.

Recent Examples of ghetto from the Web

Inside his acclaimed restaurant in the ghetto, Nonna Betta, the artichoke aficionado Umberto Pavoncello shook his head over the controversy.

— New York Times, "Is This Artichoke Kosher? Rome Defends a Classic Jewish Dish," 1 May 2018
And so when this took action outside the ghetto, now America is awake and everybody wants to do something about it.

— patrick ryan, USA TODAY, "Trayvon Martin's parents bring heartbreaking new docuseries 'Rest in Power' to Tribeca," 21 Apr. 2018
When this took action outside the ghetto, now, America is awakened.

— hilary hughes, Billboard, "'Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story' Brings 'One of the Most Important Conversations' to Tribeca Film Festival," 21 Apr. 2018
Repertory includes songs from the Cracow ghetto, songs from Jewish cabaret and Yiddish film, also works by Stefan Wolpe, Kurt Weill and music director Ilya Levinson. 8 p.m.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Recommended Chicago classical concerts for April 20-26," 19 Apr. 2018
The ghetto that slowly discloses the bureaucracy of degradation – where walls are first built, then prayer forbidden and deportation imminent.

— samantha baskind, Time, "The Story of the Warsaw Ghetto Is About Much More Than Just the Uprising," 18 Apr. 2018
One, Ewa Kurek, has made claims including that Jews had fun in the ghettos during the German occupation of Poland during World War II.

— Fox News, "Poland cancels ceremony honoring alleged anti-Semite," 11 Apr. 2018
Rackets are the big business of the ghetto, with masses of employees.

— martin luther king jr., The Atlantic, "The Crisis in America’s Cities," 31 Mar. 2018
The country was occupied for years by the forces of Nazi Germany, who herded Jews into ghettos, shot at least 200,000 of them and killed an additional million in Auschwitz, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "Israelis furious after Poland moves to jail people who mention complicity in the Holocaust," 28 Jan. 2018

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

Did You Know?

The etymology of Italian ghetto was formerly the subject of much speculation, but today there is little doubt that the word comes from the Italian dialect form ghèto, meaning “foundry.” A foundry for cannons was once located on an island that forms part of Venice, where in 1516 the Venetians restricted Jewish residence. The word ghèto became the name for the area and was borrowed into standard Italian as ghetto, with the meaning of “section of a city where Jews are forced to live.” From there it passed into most other European languages. Since the late 19th century, the meaning of ghetto has been extended to crowded urban districts where other ethnic or racial groups have been confined by poverty or prejudice.

Origin and Etymology of ghetto

Italian, from Venetian dialect ghèto island where Jews were forced to live, literally, foundry (located on the island), from ghetàr to cast, from Latin jactare to throw — more at jet

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1611

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year