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

The Daily Star declares "Tiger attack horror", and says the unnamed man was killed on Saturday after he climbed into a big cat enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

A few seconds later, she enters the enclosure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

"Interestingly, one of the females has come back into the enclosure to lay some eggs, which is incredibly encouraging," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

The ceremony took place behind an enclosure in a meadow where concertgoers streamed by, sandwiched between a space for “Freak Nature Puppets” and a pastry booth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Down the way, there were two other prisoners, each alone in their own enclosure.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Among the recommendations made in the report was putting an end to the use of the small metal enclosures, greater access to showers for inmates and more recreation time.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

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 organisation said resident male rusty-spotted cat Kuda would be joined by a female later in 2026 at the enclosures under the breeding scheme.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Ani­mals that are kept in unsuitable enclosures are the most obvious example.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Related Words

• cage
• courtyard
• pen