enclosure

Also in·clo·sure

[en-kloh-zher]

noun

1. something that encloses, as a fence or wall.

2. something that is enclosed in or along with something else, as a photograph sent in a letter.

3. an area, such as a plot of ground or an indoor surface, surrounded by a fence, rope, or other barrier.

4. the separation and appropriation of land by means of a fence.

5. an act or instance of enclosing.

6. the state of being enclosed.

7. Roman Catholic Church.,  the part of a monastery or convent canonically separated or restricted as the living quarters of the religious, which a person may leave only with special permission or gain entrance to by special dispensation.

enclosure

/ ɪnˈkləʊʒə /

noun

1. the act of enclosing or state of being enclosed

2. a region or area enclosed by or as if by a fence

3. 1. the act of appropriating land, esp common land, by putting a hedge or other barrier around it

   2. history such acts as were carried out at various periods in England, esp between the 12th and 14th centuries and finally in the 18th and 19th centuries

4. a fence, wall, etc, that serves to enclose

5. something, esp a supporting document, enclosed within an envelope or wrapper, esp together with a letter

6. a section of a sports ground, racecourse, etc, allotted to certain spectators

Other Word Forms

• nonenclosure noun
• preenclosure noun
• semienclosure noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of enclosure¹

First recorded in 1450–1500; enclose + -ure

Example Sentences

Knowles said the Darden site will be safer because batteries will be in independent enclosures separated by open space outdoors, not stacked and placed in an enclosed building like they were in Moss Landing.

From Los Angeles Times

The other two cubs are now recuperating at the facility, which includes a large outdoor enclosure.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his lawyer.

From BBC

Years later, in 1957, she would vanish from her enclosure, sparking a weeks-long search and rescue mission which culminated in the zoo declaring her "presumed lost and probably dead".

From BBC

A zoo worker in Jerusalem has died after being attacked by a tiger which had escaped from its enclosure.

From BBC

Related Words

• cage 
• courtyard 
• pen