ghetto
n. countablen. a part of a city where people from a specific ethnic or social group live, often because of poverty or social pressure. It can also describe something that looks cheap or low-quality.
n. a densely populated area of a city inhabited predominantly by members of a minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions. In modern slang, it functions as a descriptor for things perceived as low-class or makeshift.
The old ghetto has become a center for local artists.
The government faced criticism for failing to invest in infrastructure within the city's poorest ghetto districts.
Sociologists argue that the isolation of the urban ghetto is reinforced by systemic disinvestment and the lack of reliable public transportation to major employment hubs.
Borrowed from the name of the Venetian Ghetto, whose etymology and original source language is uncertain. Compare Italian ghetto.
Often used metaphorically to describe any isolated or restricted group or situation.