enclave.

A distinct area enclosed within a larger territory or community different from it.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• ethnic enclave
• residential enclave
• diplomatic enclave

On the page

The artists' enclave kept its late hours while the surrounding district slept.

Inside the diplomatic enclave, guards checked every arriving car.

Her grandmother found familiar food and conversation in the immigrant enclave.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Can be political, ethnic, cultural, or social. Distinctness matters; it is not just any small neighborhood, and enclosure need not be by walls. Plural: enclaves. No other inflection applies to this noun.