ghetto

American  

[get-oh] / ˈgɛt oʊ /

noun

plural

ghettos, ghettoes

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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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 could relate to my problems, my environment. The drive, the determination, not to give in to the ghetto, to make something of my life, stems from my relations with him.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Shipper survived two concentration camps, including Auschwitz-Birkenau in occupied Poland, a death march, and the Lodz ghetto - a Jewish ghetto established by the Nazis which was plagued by disease, starvation and forced labour.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 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

Finally, Max tells me he’s been leaving the ghetto.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron