ghetto

American  

[get-oh] / ˈgɛt oʊ /

noun

ghettos, plural ghettoes plural

1. a section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social pressures or economic hardships.

2. (formerly, in most European countries) a section of a city in which all Jews were required to live.

3. any mode of living, working, etc., that results from stereotyping or biased treatment.

   job ghettos for women; ghettos for the elderly.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of life in a ghetto or the people who live there.

   ghetto culture.

2. Slang: Often Disparaging and Offensive. noting something that is considered to be unrefined, low-class, cheap, or inferior.

ghetto British  

/ ˈɡɛtəʊ /

noun

1. sociol a densely populated slum area of a city inhabited by a socially and economically deprived minority

2. an area in a European city in which Jews were formerly required to live

3. a group or class of people that is segregated in some way

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• ghettos
  plural
• ghettoes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ghetto

First recorded in 1605–15; from Italian, originally the name of an island near Venice where Jews were forced to reside in the 16th century, from Venetian dialect: literally, “foundry for artillery” (giving the island its name); futher origin uncertain

Explanation

Ghetto means a crowded poor part of a city lived in by a specific ethnic group. The word is powerful, often associated with a rich cultural heritage or a sense of shame and a desire to escape. While most ghettos are formed through social forces (immigration, real estate values, public housing), in European cities during the time of the Nazi Holocaust (1939-1944), Jews were required by law to live in designated, often walled ghettos. Today, the word ghetto can also be used to describe non-geographic, but similarly cut off situations where one might feel stuck: "the academic ghetto."

Example Sentences

The Rothschilds trace their lineage back to Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who rose from his birth in the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt to build an international banking empire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

He has faced a concerted challenge from singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43, who styles himself the "ghetto president", after his stronghold in a slum where he grew up in the capital, Kampala.

From Barron's • Jan. 15, 2026

Afterward, a group of children come to the dressing room, with a criticism: “In the ghetto, that’s not how it was,” says one.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

The Polish-born actress, 96, who escaped a Nazi ghetto as a child and forged a successful career in dance and drama, is thought to have died last weekend at the Pegasos clinic near Basel.

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2025

In one hour, Helena stands at the gate to the ghetto, playing with her ball, the note in her pocket, and I am at my post beside the old ice cream shack.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron