terrace

[ter-uhs]

noun

1. a raised level with a vertical or sloping front or sides faced with masonry, turf, or the like, especially one of a series of levels rising one above another.

2. the top of such a construction, used as a platform, garden, road, etc.

3. a nearly level strip of land with a more or less abrupt descent along the margin of the sea, a lake, or a river.

4. the flat roof of a house.

5. an open, often paved area connected to a house or an apartment house and serving as an outdoor living area; deck.

6. an open platform, as projecting from the outside wall of an apartment; a large balcony.

7. a row of houses on or near the top of a slope.

8. a residential street following the top of a slope.

verb (used with or without object)

terraced, terracing 

1. to form into or furnish with a terrace or terraces.

terrace

/ ˈtɛrəs /

noun

1. a horizontal flat area of ground, often one of a series in a slope

2. 1. a row of houses, usually identical and having common dividing walls, or the street onto which they face

   2. ( cap when part of a street name )

      Grosvenor Terrace

3. a paved area alongside a building, serving partly as a garden

4. a balcony or patio

5. the flat roof of a house built in a Spanish or Oriental style

6. a flat area bounded by a short steep slope formed by the down-cutting of a river or by erosion

7. (usually plural)

   1. unroofed tiers around a football pitch on which the spectators stand

   2. the spectators themselves

verb

1. (tr) to make into or provide with a terrace or terraces

Other Word Forms

• terraceless adjective
• unterraced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of terrace¹

1505–15; earlier terrasse < Middle French < Old Provençal terrassa < Vulgar Latin *terrācea, feminine of *terrāceus. See terra, -aceous

Word History and Origins

Origin of terrace¹

C16: from Old French terrasse, from Old Provençal terrassa pile of earth, from terra earth, from Latin

Example Sentences

An external garden terrace located on the 17th floor of the building will be accessible to the public and is designed to provide green space and panoramic views.

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Reports suggested McGill, who once co-ordinated chants on the Ibrox terraces, was now orchestrating the wave of violence across the central belt from his new home in Dubai.

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The 12 new towns will be walkable and environmentally friendly, with "gentle density" such as "terraced housing and mansion blocks" rather than high-rise.

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Rather than the noise filtering down from the terrace on to the tee, it seemed to drift over the top of the players and down the fairway.

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Reselling football tickets is illegal in the UK,, external except on a club-approved exchange - a measure introduced to stop rival fans clashing on the terraces.

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Related Words

• balcony 
• deck 
• gallery 
• patio 
• platform 
• porch 
• promenade 
• roof