enclosure
[en-kloh-zher]
- something that encloses, as a fence or wall.
- something that is enclosed, as a paper sent in a letter.
- the separation and appropriation of land by means of a fence.
- a tract of land surrounded by a fence.
- an act or instance of enclosing.
- the state of being enclosed.
- Roman Catholic Church. the part of a monastery or convent canonically separated or restricted as the living quarters of the religious, from which a person may leave only with special permission or gain entrance to by special dispensation.
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Also inclosure.
Origin of enclosure
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for enclosure
Contemporary Examples
The bulls ran through the crowd, and into another pen at the opposite end of the enclosure.
At his signal, a gate at the far end of the enclosure was swung open.
It will also ensure that there can be no fire inside the enclosure, thus adding another layer of protection to the battery system.
This enclosure will isolate the battery from the rest of the equipment in the electronic bays.
Within the enclosure, men sit on dirty couches, either improvised out of other materials or actual literal couches.
Historical Examples
Within all that enclosure there seemed no one possessed of any calm.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
Moving from enclosure to enclosure of box, she came, before she knew it, to the house itself.
Quaint CourtshipsVarious
The enclosure now existing has no reference to the outlines of the intrenchment.
Camps, Quarters and Casual PlacesArchibald Forbes
The enclosure was very hot and stuffy; there was a smell of dust and straw.
Meadow GrassAlice Brown
He offered the letter and its enclosure to Cornelius and Sir Ulick.
Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
enclosure
inclosure
- the act of enclosing or state of being enclosed
- a region or area enclosed by or as if by a fence
- the act of appropriating land, esp common land, by putting a hedge or other barrier around it
- historysuch 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
- a fence, wall, etc, that serves to enclose
- something, esp a supporting document, enclosed within an envelope or wrapper, esp together with a letter
- British a section of a sports ground, racecourse, etc, allotted to certain spectators
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for enclosure
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper