ghetto: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B2Neutral, but can be highly sensitive/pejorative due to historical and social weight. Also used in informal slang.
Quick answer
What does “ghetto” mean?
A part of a city, especially a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups, originally by force.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A part of a city, especially a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups, originally by force.
Any situation, environment, or group that is isolated, segregated, or limited in opportunities, often in a negative sense. In informal contexts (especially hip-hop culture), it can describe something authentically raw or resourceful from an urban, impoverished background.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The historical context (Jewish ghettos) is common in both. In the US, the term is more frequently used to describe impoverished, predominantly Black urban areas. In the UK, it may refer more broadly to areas of ethnic minority concentration.
Connotations
Both carry heavy negative historical connotations of forced segregation. In US slang, it can have reclaimed positive connotations (e.g., 'ghetto fabulous'). In the UK, it is less commonly used in slang.
Frequency
More frequent in American English due to prominence in discussions of race and urban poverty.
Grammar
How to Use “ghetto” in a Sentence
to live in a/the ~to be confined to a ~to grow up in a ~to create/form a ~to escape the ~Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “ghetto” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The planning policy risked ghettoising the immigrant community.
- Poverty has ghettoised the northern estates.
American English
- Decades of redlining effectively ghettoized these neighborhoods.
- The artist felt ghettoized by being labeled as a 'rapper' only.
adverb
British English
- The car was repaired ghetto-style with wire and hope.
- He lived ghetto, without steady work.
American English
- They rigged the antenna ghetto, but it worked.
- She decorated her room ghetto fabulous.
adjective
British English
- They played music on a ghetto blaster in the park.
- He had a ghetto upbringing in Birmingham.
American English
- She fixed it with some ghetto engineering—a paperclip and tape.
- The apartment had a ghetto feel, with peeling paint and flickering lights.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare, potentially offensive. Could be used metaphorically (e.g., 'a marketing ghetto').
Academic
Common in sociology, history, and urban studies to discuss segregation and poverty.
Everyday
Used with extreme caution; can be offensive. Informal slang use exists (e.g., 'That's so ghetto' meaning makeshift).
Technical
Used in urban planning and social policy with specific definitions related to segregation and deprivation indices.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “ghetto”
- Using it as a casual synonym for 'a messy or cheap place'.
- Using it without awareness of its deeply offensive potential, especially to groups historically subjected to ghettoization.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It can be highly offensive if used insensitively. Its historical context (e.g., Nazi ghettos) and its association with racial segregation and poverty mean it should be used with great care and precision, primarily in academic or historical discussion.
The most accepted etymology traces it to the Venetian 'ghèto', the name of the island where Jews were confined in 16th-century Venice, possibly from 'borghetto' (small borough) or from the Italian 'getto' (foundry, as one was located there).
Yes, the verbs 'ghettoize' (US) and 'ghettoise' (UK) mean to make an area or group into a ghetto, or to isolate or segregate them.
It is a slang term for a large, portable radio/cassette or CD player, popular in the 1980s hip-hop culture, known for playing music loudly in public spaces.
A part of a city, especially a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups, originally by force.
Ghetto is usually neutral, but can be highly sensitive/pejorative due to historical and social weight. also used in informal slang. in register.
Ghetto: in British English it is pronounced /ˈɡet.əʊ/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈɡet̬.oʊ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “ghetto blaster (boombox)”
- “ghetto fabulous (ostentatious style from an impoverished background)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of the word 'GET' in 'ghetto'. Historically, people were forced to 'get' into a confined area and couldn't 'get out'.
Conceptual Metaphor
Ghetto as a prison (confinement, lack of freedom); Ghetto as a disease (spreading poverty, stigma); Ghetto as an island (isolation from the mainland of society).
Practice
Quiz
In modern informal American slang, what can 'ghetto' sometimes positively imply?