In general topology, a subset ${\displaystyle A}$ of a topological space is said to be dense-in-itself or crowded if ${\displaystyle A}$ has no isolated point. Equivalently, ${\displaystyle A}$ is dense-in-itself if every point of ${\displaystyle A}$ is a limit point of ${\displaystyle A}$. Thus ${\displaystyle A}$ is dense-in-itself if and only if ${\displaystyle A\subseteq A'}$, where ${\displaystyle A'}$ is the derived set of ${\displaystyle A}$.

A dense-in-itself closed set is called a perfect set. (In other words, a perfect set is a closed set without isolated point.)

The notion of dense set is unrelated to dense-in-itself. This can sometimes be confusing, as "X is dense in X" (always true) is not the same as "X is dense-in-itself" (no isolated point).