enclosure

American  

[en-kloh-zher] / ɛnˈkloʊ ʒər /

Also inclosure

noun

• enclosures
  plural

1. something that encloses, as a fence or wall.

2. something that is enclosed in or along with something else, as a photograph sent in a letter.

3. an area, such as a plot of ground or an indoor surface, surrounded by a fence, rope, or other barrier.

4. the separation and appropriation of land by means of a fence.

5. an act or instance of enclosing.

6. the state of being enclosed.

7. Roman Catholic Church. the part of a monastery or convent canonically separated or restricted as the living quarters of the religious, which a person may leave only with special permission or gain entrance to by special dispensation.

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enclosure British  

/ ɪnˈkləʊʒə /

noun

1. the act of enclosing or state of being enclosed

2. a region or area enclosed by or as if by a fence

3. 1. the act of appropriating land, esp common land, by putting a hedge or other barrier around it

   2. history such acts as were carried out at various periods in England, esp between the 12th and 14th centuries and finally in the 18th and 19th centuries

4. a fence, wall, etc, that serves to enclose

5. something, esp a supporting document, enclosed within an envelope or wrapper, esp together with a letter

6. a section of a sports ground, racecourse, etc, allotted to certain spectators

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonenclosure
  noun
• preenclosure
  noun
• semienclosure
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• enclosures
  plural

Etymology

Origin of enclosure

First recorded in 1450–1500; enclose + -ure

Explanation

An enclosure is something that closes you in, like a pen or a cage. When a cobra disappeared from an enclosure at the Bronx Zoo, the entire Reptile House had to be shut down until the snake was found. An enclosure can also be something that's included in an envelope with a cover letter of some sort. If you're sending a letter to your literary agent and you’re including a few pages of your latest limericks, you might put "enc." at the bottom of the letter, to indicate that you've included something extra in the envelope — an enclosure.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

enclosure enclosures

According to the zoo's website, it offers a safari-style bus service for visitors to view the lions in their enclosure.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

The parents of a three-year-old boy who was attacked in a crocodile enclosure say they are "amazed" at the progress he is making and that he is "smiling again".

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The tigers would start their new lives in a 40-hectare enclosure at the end of a red dirt track, some four kilometres from the nearest main road and local resident Lin Meng Ma's home.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

The NFL’s hosting rules require a roofing enclosure if the average game-day temperature falls below 50 degrees—which rules out most of the country for most of the winter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

The front gate and low south buildings—the counting house, offices, and storerooms, as Mrs. Bedlow explained— formed part of the enclosure.

From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson

Artificial-intelligence systems have been displaying some eye-opening new abilities in recent weeks: breaking out of their enclosures, hacking other companies, lying to people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The region's Guigang Zoo asked the public for help on Wednesday to find at least 100 animals that had escaped after their enclosures were damaged, including alpacas, miniature pigs, and zebras.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

The company’s site in Garden Grove, Calif., creates plane windows and clear enclosures that cover the cockpits of F-35 jet fighters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

Social media posts appearing to be from the trainer show several pictures of the tigers playing in the enclosures.

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

That is why enclosures are cleaned, out of concern for the intestinal health of animals, not to spare the eyes and noses of vis­itors.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Related Words

• cage
• courtyard
• pen