terrace
Americannoun
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terraces
plural
-
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.
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the top of such a construction, used as a platform, garden, road, etc.
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a nearly level strip of land with a more or less abrupt descent along the margin of the sea, a lake, or a river.
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the flat roof of a house.
-
an open, often paved area connected to a house or an apartment house and serving as an outdoor living area; deck.
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an open platform, as projecting from the outside wall of an apartment; a large balcony.
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a row of houses on or near the top of a slope.
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a residential street following the top of a slope.
verb (used with or without object)
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terraces,
present (3rd person singular)
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terraced,
past participle, past
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terracing
present participle
noun
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a horizontal flat area of ground, often one of a series in a slope
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a row of houses, usually identical and having common dividing walls, or the street onto which they face
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( cap when part of a street name )
Grosvenor Terrace
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a paved area alongside a building, serving partly as a garden
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a balcony or patio
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the flat roof of a house built in a Spanish or Oriental style
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a flat area bounded by a short steep slope formed by the down-cutting of a river or by erosion
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(usually plural)
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unroofed tiers around a football pitch on which the spectators stand
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the spectators themselves
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verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
terracesimple
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terracessimple
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have terracedperfect
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has terracedperfect
-
am terracingprogressive
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are terracingprogressive
-
is terracingprogressive
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have been terracingperfect progressive
-
has been terracingperfect progressive
Past
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terracedsimple
-
had terracedperfect
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was terracingprogressive
-
were terracingprogressive
-
had been terracingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of terrace
1505–15; earlier terrasse < Middle French < Old Provençal terrassa < Vulgar Latin *terrācea, feminine of *terrāceus. See terra, -aceous
Explanation
A terrace is a paved or brick outdoor area right next to a house or apartment. You might have a nice dinner out on your terrace, enjoying the sunset. Terrace and patio are synonyms. Another meaning for terrace is "a block of row houses that are connected by shared walls and are built in a similar style." Terrace also refers to flat areas on a hillside where people farm or have built houses. That land has been terraced, meaning "made into shelves."
Vocabulary lists containing terrace
Learning Down The House: Parts of Your Home
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Elements of the Universe: Terr, Terra ("Earth")
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South America - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The 5,000-square-foot home was built in 1852 and comes complete with three bedrooms, sprawling ceilings, and a private terrace.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
The advanced terrace system made the Aztecs self-sufficient in food, he says, “allowing them to create their empire.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
That Premium Lounge is expected to include a second-floor open-air terrace, “continuous food and beverage service,” priority entry and a commemorative gift.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
But glasses have been reserved for visitors planning to watch from the visitor attraction's rooftop terrace available on a first-come, first-served, basis.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
I wished Georgie would step out of the woods and stop me from walking across the field to the terrace.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
The 61st floor, whose exterior features a tribute to the radiator caps of early Chrysler vehicles, is to be converted into a dining space with access to outdoor terraces.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
This is the view from downstream, looking up at the house and its welter of projecting terraces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
For generations, summer in Europe has been languid and dreamy, bringing fine weather and lengthy days on sunny beaches and terraces.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The parcel features “expansive terraces, sprawling gardens, several guest houses, a tennis court and its own nine-hole golf course,” according to the Journal.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Despite constant maintenance, erosion silted up reservoirs, hurricanes destroyed terraces, and weeds and sediment choked irrigation networks.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The house itself serves as a time capsule of Old Hollywood glitz and glamour, with sprawling gardens and terraced lawns perched on 8.4 acres overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
As we climbed the terraced pools of the West Kill, I concentrated on keeping my cast short and precise until I caught my first brook trout, or “brookie.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
From the outside it looks like an ordinary house on a terraced street - but behind lies a tropical jungle complete with some poisonous plants.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Oren Brown, 27, usually works in a dedicated office room but says his terraced house in County Durham is "horribly stifling upstairs".
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
He remembered no intervening time, no sore feet—but here he was, addressing in the politest terms an old lady who stood in the doorway of a flat-fronted terraced house.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
It is believed changes include replacing seating in some areas of the ground with terracing, reducing press facilities and altering the hospitality layout as well as the plans for WiFi infrastructure.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2024
A different report discussed terracing the river upstream from that spot — changing the sloped shape of the sides into steps, “and in those steps, you might insert areas for landscaping to grow,” Weintraub said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2024
The terracing and draining systems of the mountain’s forests should safely channel rain from the mountain to the sea.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2022
The upper-tier will become outdoor terracing for new homes.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2022
The principal reason for its success was its innovative techniques of terracing and irrigation, the latter being used to implement the former.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
