enclave
/ˈɛnkleɪv/noun, verb
enclave is spelled E-N-C-L-A-V-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, enclave means “A political, cultural or social entity or part thereof that is completely surrounded by another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of enclave is enclaves.
How many letters and syllables are in enclave?
| Letters | 7: E-N-C-L-A-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is enclave?
Enclave appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce enclave?
- UK /ˈɛnkleɪv/
- UK /ˈɛŋkleɪv/
- UK /ˈɒ̃kleɪv/
Enclave has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-enclave.ogg, En-uk-enclave-alt.ogg, En-us-enclave.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with enclave?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as enclave (/ɛnkleɪv/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: valence.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of enclave
- enclaves plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- enclaving participle, present
- enclaved participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does enclave mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A political, cultural or social entity or part thereof that is completely surrounded by another.
The Republic of San Marino is an enclave of Italy.
- 2
A group that is set off from a larger population by its characteristic or behavior.
- 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.
verb
- 1
To enclose within a foreign territory.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Enclave in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense entity completely surrounded by another:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does enclave come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).