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)

, ter·raced, ter·rac·ing.

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

Derived Forms

• ˈterraceless, adjective

Other Words From

• terrace·less adjective
• un·terraced 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

After college, Washington and several of his closest friends, including bassist Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner, drummer Ronald Bruner Jr., pianist Cameron Graves, trombonist Ryan Porter, and multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin, among others, began performing weekly at the Piano Bar in Hollywood, an engagement that lasted several years.

From Los Angeles Times

But this weekend, Duncan McKay, an avowed football fanatic, Hibernian supporter and star of BBC Scotland's A View from the Terrace, will do just that as he takes charge of 142-year-old club Albion Rovers for their Lowland League match against Hearts B.

From BBC

And it will all be caught on camera, part of the much-loved A View from the Terrace segment, 'Put A Shift In'.

From BBC

You can see how Duncan gets on when A View from the Terrace airs next Friday - available on iPlayer from 12:00 GMT.

From BBC

He used a metal bike rack to scale a stone wall to reach the Capitol’s West Plaza before making his way to the mouth of a tunnel entrance that police were guarding on the Lower West Terrace.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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