# ghetto

/ˈɡɛtoʊ/ (US) · /ɡˈɛtəʊ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/ghetto
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. ethnic or poor urban area

noun · CEFR B2

a part of a city where many people of the same race or ethnic group live, often in poor conditions.

For teachers: a densely populated slum area of a city inhabited predominantly by a minority group or groups, often as a result of social or economic restrictions.

- The government is trying to improve housing in the city's poorest ghettos.
- Sociologists argue that systemic redlining effectively created urban ghettos by preventing minority families from securing mortgages in other neighbourhoods.

### 2. historical Jewish quarter

noun · CEFR B2

an area of a city where Jewish people were forced to live in the past.

For teachers: a quarter of a city in which Jews were formerly required to live by law, particularly in medieval Italy or Nazi-occupied Europe.

- Visitors can still see the gates of the old Jewish ghetto in Venice.
- The liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto remains one of the most tragic and well-documented chapters of the Holocaust.

### 3. low quality or cheap

adjective · CEFR C1 · Informal · Slang

something that looks cheap, broken, or poor quality.

For teachers: describing something perceived as low-quality, makeshift, or unrefined. Often carries derogatory class-based or racial connotations.

- He used a ghetto setup with duct tape to fix his broken car window.
- The students joked about their ghetto apartment, which featured a milk crate for a coffee table and a leaky ceiling.

Teaching tip: This usage can be offensive as it often mocks poverty or relies on racial stereotypes; learners should use it with extreme caution.

### 4. to isolate a group

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to force a group of people to live in a certain area or stay in a certain social level.

For teachers: to restrict or confine a particular group to a specific area or a lower social status.

- The new laws threatened to ghetto the immigrant population even further.
- By failing to provide adequate public transport, the city council effectively ghettoed the residents of the outer suburbs.

Usage: The verb is transitive and usually takes a human group as its object.

## Examples

- 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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.