eruv

E1R1U1V4
/ˈɛɹʊv//ˈeɪ.ɹʊv//-ɹuv/

noun

An eruv chatzerot; ritual aggregation of properties that allows Jews observing traditional Shabbat rules to carry burdens across property lines.

“Sam is sad that people don't visit him at home on Shabbos because he lives outside the eruv.”

UncommonScrabble 7

Meanings

nouneruv (plural eruvs or eruvim or eruvin)

plural eruvs · plural eruvim · plural eruvin · alternative erub · alternative eiruv

  1. Jewishmost commonlylawAn eruv chatzerot; ritual aggregation of properties that allows Jews observing traditional Shabbat rules to carry burdens across property lines.

    Sam is sad that people don't visit him at home on Shabbos because he lives outside the eruv.

    3 more examples

    That, she said, is the kind of problem that an eruv can solve. The city is home to other eruvs — a large one in Manhattan was extended this year from Midtown to Houston Street — and many are in predominantly Jewish areas. […] “We live in a day and age,” he continued, “where if you don’t have an eruv, you’re taking yourself off of many people’s lists.”

    2007 August 12, Jake Mooney, “A Slender Thread to Knit a Neighborhood”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 30 Jun 2013

    ‘Fat’ is the word you hear shouted in the playground, or on the street – it's never allowed over the threshold of the house. My mum won't have that filth in her house. At home, together, we are safe. It's like an eruv for the slow and soft.

    2011, Caitlin Moran, How to be a Woman

    The eruv makes it easier for Orthodox Jews to move around, but it reinforces the idea that this community is our home.

    2018 October 29, Kristin Kanthak, “Hate can’t diminish ‘Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood’”, in CNN
  2. JewishlawOne of the other types of eruv; an eruv tavshilin or eruv techumin.

Origin

Borrowed from Hebrew עירוב / עֵרוּב (eirúv, “mixture”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French érouv
  • érouveruv chatzerot, ritual aggregation of domains
Cite this entry
APA

eruv. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eruv

MLA

“eruv.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eruv. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eruv,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eruv.

Source: eruv on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.