terrace

American  

[ter-uhs] / ˈtɛr əs /

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.

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verb (used with or without object)

terraced, terracing

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

terrace British  

/ 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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

• terraceless adjective
• unterraced adjective

Etymology

Origin of terrace

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

Example Sentences

The maker of Aperol is banking on selling a taste of Italy’s terrace lifestyle to more Americans, part of its chief executive’s plan to grab market share and sales growth in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

Formal living and dining spaces flow easily onto shaded terraces and courtyards, reinforcing the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that has long defined Palm Springs living.

From MarketWatch

The Barbican's distinctive brutalist foyers and lakeside terrace will also be developed to protect the heritage of the building, and a climate-controlled habitat to support plant health is to be introduced.

From BBC

His customers appeared to appreciate the decision, with most tables full of young people on their laptops or chatting quietly in the shade of the roof terrace.

From BBC

“This mom was walking her little baby back and forth across the terrace, teaching her how to walk,” Chamberlain said, “and she’s giggling while there’s a car burning,”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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