terrace

terrace — noun

1. a flat, level surface built higher than the ground or floor around it, often ext

1.nounB1
Definition

a flat, level surface built higher than the ground or floor around it, often extending from a wall or forming part of a garden or building structure

Example

The hotel's rooftop terrace looks out over the old city and the harbour below.

collocation: rooftop terrace

Niran climbed the stairs to the terrace and sat down to rest.

Common collocations
  • stone terrace
  • rooftop terrace
  • wide terrace
Synonyms
  • platform

    more general, not necessarily architectural or outdoors

  • level

    emphasises the flatness but does not imply any built structure

Usage Note

This is the broadest sense of terrace, covering any raised architectural level. Distinguish from sense 2, which specifically refers to an outdoor seating or dining area next to a house or restaurant.

2. a flat outdoor area next to a house, café, or restaurant, usually paved or made

2.nounA2
Definition

a flat outdoor area next to a house, café, or restaurant, usually paved or made of wood, where people sit, eat meals, or relax outdoors

Example

The Wongs sat on their terrace and ate dinner under the stars.

collocation: eat/relax/dine on the terrace

Ingrid planted flowers in pots along the edge of her terrace.

Common collocations
  • café terrace
  • sunny terrace
  • sit on the terrace
  • garden terrace
  • rooftop terrace
Synonyms
  • patio

    more common in American English; usually paved and at ground level behind a house

  • deck

    a wooden platform, usually raised off the ground

  • veranda

    a covered outdoor platform along the side of a house, usually with a roof

Usage Note

Subject is usually a house, café, or restaurant. In American English, patio is more common than terrace for this sense, while terrace is used in both varieties.

Common Mistakes

We sat on the terrace of our hotel room.
We sat on the balcony of our hotel room.
A hotel room usually has a balcony (a small platform on an upper floor), not a terrace (which is at ground level or on a rooftop).

3. a level strip of farmland built like a step on a mountainside, made by flattenin

3.nounB1
Definition

a level strip of farmland built like a step on a mountainside, made by flattening a section of the slope for planting

Example

Farmers in this region have built terraces on the steep hillsides to grow rice.

pattern: built terraces on [hillside/slope]

The old rice terraces stretch across the mountain like giant green stairs.

Common collocations
  • rice terraces
  • hillside terraces
  • build terraces
  • ancient terraces
Synonyms
  • paddy

    specifically a flooded terrace for growing rice; narrower in meaning

  • field

    more general; does not imply the step-like shape or hillside location

Usage Note

Often used in the plural (terraces) because these landforms occur in series. Can also refer to a single step-like area (one terrace).

4. wide, shallow steps in a sports stadium where people stand while watching a matc

4.nounB2
Definition

wide, shallow steps in a sports stadium where people stand while watching a match, most often seen at British football grounds

Example

Thousands of fans stood on the terraces, cheering for their team throughout the match.

collocation: stand on the terraces

The old stadium still had open terraces behind each goal, with no seats at all.

Common collocations
  • open terraces
  • standing on the terraces
  • football terraces
  • the terraces
Synonyms
  • stands

    more general; can refer to seated or covered areas, not just standing steps

Usage Note

Primarily British English, associated with football (soccer) culture. These are standing areas, not seats. All-seater stadiums have replaced many terraces in top-tier British football after the 1990s.

Common Mistakes

I sat on the terrace to watch the football match.
I stood on the terrace to watch the football match.
In British football stadiums, terraces are for standing spectators, not sitting.

5. a house in a line of connected homes that share side walls with their neighbours

5.nounB1
Definition

a house in a line of connected homes that share side walls with their neighbours, each built in a matching style; the word can also refer to the whole line of such houses

Example

Piotr rented a small two-bedroom terrace on a quiet street near the park.

British usage: a terrace = a single terraced house

The houses in this Victorian terrace all have tall windows and original fireplaces.

Common collocations
  • Victorian terrace
  • Georgian terrace
  • end-of-terrace
  • two-bedroom terrace
Synonyms
  • row house

    American English term for the same type of house

  • townhouse

    often similar but can imply a more modern or upmarket style

  • terraced house

    the full form of the British term

Antonyms

Usage Note

Common in British English. In American English these are called row houses or townhouses. A terrace can refer either to the whole row or to a single house within the row.

Common Mistakes

They live in a terraced house, so they have gardens on both sides.
They live in a detached house, so they have gardens on both sides.
A terraced house (or terrace) shares side walls with neighbours and typically only has a front and back garden, not side gardens.

terrace — verb

Word family

  • terraced
    adjectiveB2
  • terracing
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

These words all describe outdoor areas attached to a building, but they differ in position and construction. A 'terrace' (noun/2) is a paved or stone outdoor area at ground level or slightly raised, often next to a house or restaurant. A 'patio' is very similar — usually a paved area at ground level behind a house — but 'patio' is more common in American English, while 'terrace' is used across both varieties. A 'deck' is a wooden platform built off the ground, often at the back of a house. A 'veranda' is a covered platform along the outside of a house, usually with a roof. A 'balcony' is a small platform that projects from a higher floor of a building, not at ground level. For example: 'The family sat on the terrace eating breakfast' suggests a paved area at ground level, while 'The family sat on the balcony' suggests an upper-floor platform attached to a specific room.

terrace ↗patiodeck ↗verandabalcony ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • garden terrace
  • hillside terrace
  • rooftop terrace
  • café terrace
  • south-facing terrace

Adverbs

  • beautifully terraced
  • carefully terraced
  • traditionally terraced

Phrases

  • on the terrace
  • row of terraces
  • house with a terrace
  • end of terrace

Prepositions

  • on a/the terrace
  • onto the terrace
  • across the terraces

Etymology

LatinVulgar LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'terrace' entered English in the 1500s from Old French 'terrace', meaning a raised platform or mound of earth. The French word came from Vulgar Latin '*terracea' (earthen, made of earth), which derived from Latin 'terra' (earth, land, ground). The original sense of a raised earthen platform gradually expanded to include paved outdoor areas (1500s), rows of houses built on raised ground (1700s), and stepped agricultural fields cut into hillsides (1800s). The sporting sense of standing steps in a stadium developed in the early 1900s.