enclosure
Americannoun
-
enclosures
plural
-
something that encloses, as a fence or wall.
-
something that is enclosed in or along with something else, as a photograph sent in a letter.
-
an area, such as a plot of ground or an indoor surface, surrounded by a fence, rope, or other barrier.
-
the separation and appropriation of land by means of 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, which a person may leave only with special permission or gain entrance to by special dispensation.
noun
-
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
-
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
-
-
a fence, wall, etc, that serves to enclose
-
something, esp a supporting document, enclosed within an envelope or wrapper, esp together with a letter
-
a section of a sports ground, racecourse, etc, allotted to certain spectators
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of enclosure
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.
Vocabulary lists containing enclosure
Case Closed: Clud, Clus
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Industrial Revolution - Middle School and High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kiley said Friday that one of his staff members opened an envelope containing the substance and immediately placed it in a quarantine enclosure designed for such an incident.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
British police responded to reports of a man entering the enclosure at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near the northern city of Doncaster.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
An eyewitness described seeing Chapman wearing headphones and "pacing around" near the enclosure before he went in.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
From the walkway, visitors can view the park's Amur tigers in their enclosure which includes woodland, grassland and a waterfall pool.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
He noticed that he was standing in a round enclosure that looked like the inside of a hogan.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
"I view it in the same way a determined thief will get into somebody's house or somebody's car and despite the best security systems and enclosures sometimes these things happen," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Dr Campbell Murn, a previous member of the government's zoo expert committee and lecturer at the University of Reading, said while it was a tragic incident, determined people could get inside zoo enclosures.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
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
"Use of these small metal enclosures for any reason is unprecedented among detention facilities OIG has inspected and presents significant risks to detainee health and safety," the report said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
A plague upon bad zoos with bad enclosures!
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
