noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˈɛnkleɪv/
UK:/ˈɛŋkleɪv/
UK:/ˈɒ̃kleɪv/
UK:/ˈɒnkleɪv/
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:/ˈɑnkleɪv/
US:/ˈɛnkleɪv/
US:/ˈɑŋkleɪv/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛnkleɪv
rhymes with -ɛŋkleɪv
rhymes with -ɒnkleɪv
CMU ARPABET:AA1 N K L EY2 V
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:EH1 N K L EY2 V
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A political, cultural or social entity or part thereof that is completely surrounded by another.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The Republic of San Marino is an enclave of Italy.
The streets around Union Square form a Protestant enclave within an otherwise Catholic neighbourhood.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A group that is set off from a larger population by its characteristic or behavior.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An isolated portion of an application's address space, such that data in an enclave can only be accessed by code in the same enclave.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Borrowed from French enclave, from Middle French enclave (“enclave”), deverbal of enclaver (“to inclose”), from Old French enclaver (“to inclose, lock in”), from Vulgar Latin *inclāvāre (“to lock in”), from in + Latin clavis (“key”) or clavus (“nail, bolt”). Compare inlock.
Across languages
Translations
27 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
անկլավ
(anklav)
— entity completely surrounded by another
Bulgarian:
анклав
(anklav)
— entity completely surrounded by another
Catalan:
enclavament
— entity completely surrounded by another
Chinese Mandarin:
飛地 /飞地
(fēidì)
— entity completely surrounded by another
Danish:
enklave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Dutch:
enclave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Esperanto:
enklavo
— entity completely surrounded by another
Finnish:
enklaavi
— entity completely surrounded by another
French:
enclave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Georgian:
ანკლავი
(anḳlavi)
— entity completely surrounded by another
German:
Enklave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Icelandic:
hólmlenda
— entity completely surrounded by another
Indonesian:
enklave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Italian:
enclave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Kazakh:
анклав
(anklav)
— entity completely surrounded by another
Macedonian:
енкла́ва
(enkláva)
— entity completely surrounded by another
Norwegian Bokmål:
enklave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Norwegian Nynorsk:
enklave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Polish:
enklawa
— entity completely surrounded by another
Portuguese:
enclave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Russian:
анкла́в
(ankláv)
— entity completely surrounded by another
Spanish:
enclave
— entity completely surrounded by another
Swedish:
enklav
— entity completely surrounded by another
Thai:
ดินแดนแทรก
(din-dɛɛn-sɛ̂ɛk)
— entity completely surrounded by another
Turkish:
enklav
— entity completely surrounded by another
Ukrainian:
анкла́в
(ankláv)
— entity completely surrounded by another
Welsh:
clofan
— entity completely surrounded by another
