Ghetto
'ɡet.oʊ
Definitions
2 meaningsA part of a city, especially a poor area, in which a particular group of people are forced or choose to live because of social or economic pressures.
'ɡet.oʊ
A section of a city, especially a slum area, inhabited predominantly by a minority group or groups, often due to social or economic pressure.
The old neighborhood was once a vibrant cultural hub, but decades of disinvestment turned it into a ghetto.
💡 Simply: Imagine a neighborhood where a certain group of people are kinda stuck living together because of unfairness or hard times. Think of it like a corner of the city that doesn't get the same chances as the rest.
👶 For kids: A ghetto is like a special part of town where some people live, often because they don't have as much money or are treated unfairly.
More Examples
Efforts to revitalize the urban ghetto have been ongoing for years with mixed results.
The poverty and lack of opportunities in the ghetto contribute to a cycle of hardship.
How It's Used
"The city's segregation policies led to the creation of several ghettos."
"During the Holocaust, Jews were forced to live in ghettos before being deported to concentration camps."
To put or keep a group of people separate from other people, often because of their race, religion, or social class, and usually in a bad situation.
'ɡet.oʊ
To confine or isolate a group of people, especially a minority, into a specific area.
The government's policies were criticized for ghettoizing minority communities.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're 'ghettotizing' a group of kids – you're making them stay separate from the others, maybe on one side of the playground, because of something like their interests or where they live.
👶 For kids: When you 'ghettoize' people, you're making them live in one area and not letting them mix with others.
More Examples
The fear of crime sometimes leads people to unintentionally ghettoize themselves by staying within their own neighborhoods.
Historically, certain populations have been ghettoized due to discrimination and prejudice.
How It's Used
"The government's policies threatened to ghettoize the immigrant population."
"The Nazis ghettoized the Jewish population during World War II."
Idioms & expressions
ghetto blaster
A large, portable radio and cassette player, often associated with urban youth culture in the 1980s.
"He carried a boombox, also known as a ghetto blaster, on his shoulder."
Ghetto Fabulous
A style that combines wealth and expensive items with items or elements from a lower social class.
"She styled her look as 'ghetto fabulous', and mixed designer clothes with urban accessories."
From the Italian 'ghetto', referring to the Jewish quarter in Venice, Italy. Initially used to describe areas where Jewish people were confined, it later expanded to encompass any area where a specific group of people, often marginalized, is segregated or isolated.
The term's historical context relates directly to the segregated Jewish quarters established in various European cities, particularly Venice, from the 16th century onward. Over time, the word has evolved to describe any area of forced segregation or social and economic disadvantage.
Memory tip
Think of a place that's separated and often impoverished, where a group is concentrated.