formerly the restricted quarter of many European cities in which Jews were required to live
"the Warsaw ghetto"
any segregated mode of living or working that results from bias or stereotyping
"the relative security of the gay ghetto"
"no escape from the ghetto of the typing pool"
a poor densely populated city district occupied by a minority ethnic group linked together by economic hardship and social restrictions
"After years of moving through the urban sprawl, he finally found himself trapped in a ghetto where economic hardship and social restrictions kept his community isolated from the rest of the city."
An (often walled) area of a city in which Jews are concentrated by force and law. (Used particularly of areas in medieval Italy and in Nazi-controlled Europe.)
"During the Holocaust, many Jewish families were forced into ghettos where they lived under strict curfews and severe restrictions until liberation."
In plain English: A ghetto is an area where poor people of a specific group are forced to live because they can't afford better housing or face discrimination elsewhere.
"The old neighborhood was once an industrial area but is now known for its dense, low-income housing blocks often referred to as ghettos."
Usage: Use "ghetto" as an adjective before another noun, such as "ghetto housing," rather than after it like standard adjectives do. Avoid using the term casually for any poor neighborhood unless specifically referring to areas historically segregated by law against Jewish residents or similar forced confinement.
To confine (a specified group of people) to a ghetto.
"The segregation laws effectively ghettored Black families into overcrowded urban neighborhoods."
In plain English: To ghetto means to force someone into an isolated group where they are treated unfairly and kept separate from others.
"The community was no longer being ghettoed by segregation laws after the new housing act passed."
Of or relating to a ghetto or to ghettos in general.
"The neighborhood was known as a Jewish ghetto during World War II."
In plain English: Ghetto describes an area where people of a specific group are forced to live because they have no other choice.
"The old neighborhood was once known for its gritty, run-down ghetto housing projects before they were renovated last year."
The word comes from Venice's famous Jewish quarter called the Ghetto, though its exact origins remain unknown. It entered English directly by borrowing this specific place name to describe segregated urban areas for minorities.