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Enclave comes from French enclaver, meaning "to enclose," which itself is based on the Latin noun clavis, meaning "key." Clavis opened the door to a few other English words, some of which might seem unlikely relatives of enclave. For example, clavicle, the word for the bone that joins the breastbone and the shoulder blade, and the musical sign clef.
Examples of enclave in a Sentence
Mark David, Robb Report, 30 Sep. 2024
The world slows down, the light begins to dip behind the crown of the brownstones across the street—and for at least a few moments, there is no world outside of the stoop’s magical enclave.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2024
The group says its rocket strikes are revenge for Israel's ongoing siege of Gaza, which has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2024
The United States has seen months of protests over Israel’s war in Gaza that has killed over 41,000, according to the local health ministry, caused a hunger crisis, displaced the entire 2.3 million population of the enclave and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israeli denies.
—Reuters, NBC News, 25 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for enclave 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'enclave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Enclave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enclave. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
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enclave
noun
ˈäŋ-
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