plural ghettos also ghettoes
Definition of ghetto
(Entry 1 of 3)
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
3a
: 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
ghetto
adjectiveDefinition of ghetto (Entry 2 of 3)
often disparaging
: of, relating to, being, or characteristic of a ghetto (see ghetto entry 1 sense 2) or the people who live there
ghetto youth/music ghetto neighborhoods Features that, according to [El] Jones, are often shamed and seen as "ugly, ghetto, or unprofessional" when on Black people, but suddenly become desirable and attractive when on a white person. — CBC Kids News And lest anyone think graffiti itself is dead … the memorial walls are the latest outburst and refinement of ghetto art springing up in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and beyond.— David Gonzalez … the many social and cultural factors that went into the creation of a permanent class of ghetto poor, unable to move into the mainstream.— Jonathan Alter
ghetto
verb
ghettoed; ghettoing; ghettos
Definition of ghetto (Entry 3 of 3)
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for ghetto
The first known use of ghetto was in 1611
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