terrace
gb/tˈɛɹəs/ us/tˈɛɹəs/
B1
English
~ 7700
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
paved outdoor area by a building
A flat place outside a building, where people can sit, eat, or relax.
Usage pattern:
sit on the terrace
Common mistake:
Learners often confuse “terrace” with “balcony”, “patio”, or “porch”. A balcony sticks out from an upper floor, a patio is a ground-level paved area (very common in US English), and a porch is a covered area at a main entrance. “Terrace” is often used in travel and hotel descriptions for any flat outdoor sitting area, including on a roof.
Synonyms
patio (Very close in meaning; more common than “terrace” in American English for a ground-level paved outdoor area at a home.)
|
deck (Usually made of wood and slightly raised; common in American English for houses.)
|
balcony (A platform outside an upper floor; smaller and projecting, not usually at ground level like many terraces.)
Antonyms
indoors (Refers to being inside a building, the opposite of being outside on a terrace.)
Collocations
roof terrace
|sun terrace
|hotel terrace
|large terrace
|terrace café
|dine on the terrace
Themes
home
|travel
|food
|housing
|daily_life
Examples
- We had breakfast on the terrace overlooking the sea.
- The restaurant’s terrace is packed on warm summer evenings.
- Our apartment comes with a small roof terrace where we grow herbs.
- They sat on the terrace, drinking coffee and watching people in the street.
- The hotel features a large sun terrace with loungers and umbrellas.
Learner examples
- We eat dinner on the terrace in summer.
- The café has a big terrace in front.
- Our room has a small terrace with two chairs.
- They sit on the terrace and talk.
- You can smoke on the terrace but not inside.
Noun
B2
entity
2
row of joined houses
A line of houses that are all joined together in one long row.
Usage pattern:
a terrace of [houses]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think “terrace” here means an outdoor seating area. In British English, “a terrace” can also mean an attached house in a row. Phrases like “a Victorian terrace” or “an end-of-terrace house” refer to houses, not outdoor spaces.
Synonyms
row house (Common in American English; usually refers to one house in a continuous row of attached houses.)
|
townhouse (Similar attached house in a row, often a bit more modern or upmarket depending on context.)
Antonyms
detached house (A house that does not share its walls with any other house, the opposite of a terrace house.)
Collocations
Victorian terrace
|long terrace of houses
|terrace house
|end-of-terrace house
|rows of terraces
|mid-terrace
Themes
housing
|city_life
|daily_life
Examples
- She grew up in a small terrace just off the main road.
- The street is lined with red-brick Victorian terraces.
- They bought an end-of-terrace house with a tiny garden.
- Most of the terraces on this estate were built in the 1930s.
- The council plans to renovate several old terraces in the area.
Learner examples
- They live in a terrace near the city center.
- The terrace is very narrow but very long.
- Many people in this town live in terrace houses.
- Their new home is an old brick terrace.
- We walked past a terrace of small homes.
Noun
B2
entity
3
flat step on a hillside
A flat step made in the side of a hill so people can build or grow plants there.
Usage pattern:
a terrace on [a hillside]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse this meaning with the outdoor area by a house. If the context mentions hillsides, mountains, or farming (especially rice), “terraces” usually means flat steps in the land, not a place with tables and chairs.
Synonyms
step (Describes the stepped shape on a slope; more general and not specific to land use or construction.)
|
platform (Suggests a flat raised area; can describe a terrace but is not limited to slopes or agriculture.)
Antonyms
slope (A continuously slanting surface, without the flat steps that make up terraces.)
Collocations
rice terraces
|hillside terraces
|stone terraces
|terraces on the mountain
|terrace farming
|stepped terraces
Themes
geography
|farming
|environment
|nature
|housing
Examples
- Rice terraces cover the hillsides around the village.
- Stone terraces protect the vineyard from erosion.
- Small vegetable plots have been created on terraces above the road.
- Ancient terraces are still visible on the mountain slopes.
- The garden is laid out on three narrow terraces connected by steps.
Learner examples
- Farmers grow rice on terraces on the hill.
- The house sits on a terrace above the river.
- We walked up the terraces to reach the top.
- There are many small terraces on the side of the mountain.
- The garden has two stone terraces with flowers.
Noun
B2
entity
4
standing area in a stadium
A part of a sports stadium with flat or stepped levels where many people stand to watch a game.
Usage pattern:
stand on the terrace
Common mistake:
Learners may think of a house or garden when they read “terrace”. In sports news, especially British football, “the terraces” usually mean the standing areas for fans in the stadium.
Synonyms
stands (General word for spectator seating or standing areas in a stadium; does not always imply standing the way “terrace” often does in British football contexts.)
|
bleachers (American English for rows of benches in a stadium; mainly refers to seating, not the traditional standing terraces of British football grounds.)
Antonyms
seating area (A part of the stadium where spectators sit, contrasting with terraces where they typically stand.)
Collocations
football terraces
|packed terraces
|singing on the terraces
|behind-the-goal terrace
|crowds on the terraces
|open terrace
Themes
sports
|entertainment
|arts_entertainment
Examples
- The fans on the home terrace sang non-stop for ninety minutes.
- Safety rules led to many old terraces being replaced with all-seater stands.
- We watched the match from the open terrace behind the goal.
- The terraces were almost empty by the time the final whistle blew.
- Supporters streamed onto the terraces as kick-off approached.
Learner examples
- We stood on the terrace to watch the game.
- The terrace was full of football fans.
- They changed the terrace into seats after the new law.
- He prefers the terrace because it feels more exciting.
- People on the terrace sang loud songs.
Verb
C1
action
5
form land into terraces
To change a hill or slope so it has flat steps, often for growing plants or building.
Usage pattern:
to terrace [a slope]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes only know “terrace” as a noun and do not recognize it as a verb. When used as a verb, it almost always refers to shaping land or a slope into flat steps, not to building a house terrace or balcony.
Synonyms
level (Means to make land flat; it does not always include the idea of multiple separate levels as clearly as “terrace”.)
|
step (As a verb, can mean to form something into steps; similar idea but not specific to land or agriculture.)
Antonyms
erode (Describes land being worn away and losing stable flat areas, the opposite of deliberately creating stable flat levels.)
Collocations
terraced hillsides
|terraced vineyards
|terraced gardens
|terraced lawns
|land terraced for farming
|terraced rice fields
Themes
farming
|construction
|environment
|nature
|work
Examples
- Farmers have terraced the surrounding hills to grow rice.
- The steep garden was terraced to create flat areas for planting.
- Much of the land has been terraced and irrigated over centuries.
- They plan to terrace the slope behind the house to prevent landslides.
- The mountainside is terraced with narrow fields and stone walls.
Learner examples
- People terrace the hills to grow crops.
- The garden was terraced to make it easier to use.
- They will terrace the land before they build the houses.
- The hillside is terraced with small farms.
- Workers terraced the slope to stop the soil from falling.
Noun
technical
C1
entity
6
natural step-like landform
In earth science, a wide flat step of land beside a river or the sea that shows where the land or water level used to be.
Usage pattern:
a river terrace / marine terrace
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that “terrace” in phrases like “river terrace” is a technical landform term, not a place to sit or a type of house. In scientific texts, look for words like river, marine, or alluvial to signal this meaning.
Synonyms
bench (A technical term in geology for a flat step-like surface; overlaps closely with this meaning in scientific contexts.)
Antonyms
valley floor (The lowest, central part of a valley, contrasting with the higher step-like levels of river or stream terraces.)
Collocations
river terrace
|marine terrace
|alluvial terrace
|terrace formation
|terrace sequence
|fluvial terraces
Themes
science
|geography
|environment
|nature
Examples
- The town is built on a river terrace above the modern floodplain.
- Several marine terraces mark former sea levels along the coast.
- Dating the river terraces helps scientists understand the region’s uplift history.
- The campsite sits on an old alluvial terrace overlooking the present channel.
- Successive terraces record stages in the river’s downcutting.
Learner examples
- The village stands on a high river terrace.
- Old marine terraces show where the sea level once was.
- Scientists study terraces to learn about past rivers.
- We climbed onto a wide terrace above the valley floor.
- The farm is on a terrace that rarely floods.
Grammar
Dictionary form
terrace
IPA
GB/tˈɛɹəs/
US/tˈɛɹəs/
Syllables & stress
ter - race (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (ter)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: terrace
- Plural: terraces
Verb
- Base: terrace
- 3rd Person Singular: terraces
- Present Participle: terracing
- Past: terraced
Word family
Forms
terraces
noun
terracing
verb
terraced
verb
Expressions
garden terrace
1/ɡˈɑɹdən tˈɛɹəs/
fixed phrase
paved sitting area in a garden
A flat area in a garden, often with stone or wood, where people sit or eat outside.
Examples
- French doors open onto a shaded garden terrace.
- We had coffee on the garden terrace beside the fountain.
- The garden terrace is lined with pots of herbs and flowers.
on the terraces
1/ˈɔn ðə tˈɛɹəsɪz/
fixed phrase
in the standing areas at a stadium
Standing in the flat or stepped area of a sports stadium with other fans.
Examples
- The atmosphere on the terraces was electric during the derby.
- He grew up watching football on the terraces with his father.
- Songs broke out on the terraces as the team came onto the pitch.
rice terrace
1/ɹˈaɪs tˈɛɹəs/
fixed phrase
stepped field for rice
A flat step on a hill where farmers grow rice.
Examples
- The valley is famous for its dramatic rice terraces.
- We hiked through green rice terraces that covered the mountainside.
- Local people still farm the old rice terraces by hand.
river terrace
1/ɹˈɪvɚ tˈɛɹəs/
fixed phrase
technical
step-like surface beside a river
In earth science, a wide flat step of land above a river that shows where the river’s floodplain used to be.
Examples
- The village is built on a high river terrace above the present floodplain.
- Geologists mapped several river terraces along the valley.
- The campsite sits on an old river terrace safe from most floods.
roof terrace
1/ɹˈuf tˈɛɹəs/
fixed phrase
outdoor area on a roof
A flat space on top of a building where people can sit, relax, or eat outside.
Examples
- The apartment has a private roof terrace with a great view of the city.
- Guests can enjoy drinks on the hotel’s roof terrace at sunset.
- They grow vegetables in pots on their small roof terrace.
sun terrace
1/sˈʌn tˈɛɹəs/
fixed phrase
outdoor area for sunbathing
A flat outdoor place with chairs or beds where people sit or lie in the sun.
Examples
- The hotel has a large sun terrace with loungers by the pool.
- We lay on the sun terrace all afternoon and read our books.
- A new sun terrace was built to give guests more outdoor space.
terrace house
1/tˈɛɹəs hˈaʊs/
fixed phrase
house in a row of attached houses
A house that is joined to other houses on one or both sides in a long row.
Examples
- They bought a small terrace house near the station.
- Most of the street is made up of old terrace houses.
- A terrace house is usually cheaper than a detached house.
terraced house
1/tˈɛɹəst hˈaʊs/
fixed phrase
house joined to others in a row
A house that is part of a long line of houses, with shared walls on one or both sides.
Examples
- She lives in a two-bedroom terraced house in London.
- Many terraced houses were built for factory workers in the 19th century.
- They converted two small terraced houses into one larger home.