enclave
/ˈɛnkleɪv/
"enclave" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“enclave” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #22,660 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #22,660
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A political, cultural or social entity or part thereof that is completely surrounded by another.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | enclave |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛnkleɪv/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #22,660 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “enclave” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for enclave is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛnkleɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,660 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for enclave, with forms such as "ecnlave", "encalve", and "encclave". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "enslave", "enclose", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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”)… The correct English form is enclave, spelled E-N-C-L-A-V-E.
Definition
- 1A political, cultural or social entity or part thereof that is completely surrounded by another.
- 2A group that is set off from a larger population by its characteristic or behavior.
- 3An isolated portion of an application's address space, such that data in an enclave can only be accessed by code in the same enclave.
Etymology
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.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ecnlave,encalve,encclave,enclaev,enclavve,encllave,enclvae,enlcave,ennclave,neclave
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of enclave - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "enclave"?
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Using “enclave”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-N-C-L-A-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛnkleɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “enslave” - see the side-by-side comparison. enclave vs enslave
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.