Word.ws English Dictionary

ringfence

ringfence noun: a fence which encircles a large area, or a whole estate, within one enclosure.

Noun

ringfence (plural ringfences)

  1. A fence which encircles a large area, or a whole estate, within one enclosure.

Verb

ringfence (third-person singular simple present ringfences, present participle ringfencing, simple past and past participle ringfenced)

  1. (transitive) To guarantee the safety of funds or investment. In particular, to ensure some degree of distinction for monies, that may provide immunity against untoward financial claims.
  2. (transitive) To specify that funds may only be used for a specific purpose, especially government funds.
  3. (transitive) To require workers to remain in (particular types of work), as during wartime.
    • As on the docks, a wartime Essential Work Order gave the miners a minimum weekly wage and 'ring-fenced' employment in the industry. This constraint was not removed until 1950.1999, Becky Conekin, Frank Mort, Chris Waters, Moments of modernity: reconstructing Britain, 1945-1964, page 89
    • Coalmining and agriculture were designated as 'ring-fenced' industries. As in wartime, the ministry was sparing in its use of legal sanctions, preferring to keep these powers in the background as far as possible. But in 1948, the ministry issued 302 directions, 288 of which required people to...2000, David Price, Office of Hope: A History of the Public Employment Service in Great Britain, page 114

Forms of ringfence

Noun
pluralringfences
alternative formring fence
Verb
third-person singular presentringfences
present participleringfencing
past participleringfenced
pastringfenced
alternative formring-fence

Origin of ringfence

From ring + fence.

Words formed from ringfence

Questions about ringfence

What does ringfence mean?
Ringfence means a fence which encircles a large area, or a whole estate, within one enclosure.
What part of speech is ringfence?
Ringfence can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of ringfence?
The plural of ringfence is ringfences.

Words near ringfence in the dictionary

  1. ringers
  2. ringes
  3. ringest
  4. ringeth
  5. ringette
  6. ringfence
  7. ringfenced
  8. ringfences
  9. ringfencing
  10. ringfort
  11. ringforts

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ringfence (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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