What does "terrace" mean?
A flat open area on the topmost floor of a building or apartment
Terrace
/ˈtɛɹəs/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A flat open area on the topmost floor of a building or apartment
- Grammar: terrace is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bench, patio, alley, alleyway.
- Useful contrasts: detached house, flatten, level.
- Usage evidence: Could we have a table on the terrace?
How to use "terrace"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "terrace" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "terrace" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "terrace" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "terrace" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "terrace" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bench" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "terrace", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A flat open area on the topmost floor of a building or apartment
"On a broad ledge near the top, we found a stone cabin. Higher up was a cistern and a few more terraces."
- 2 usually paved outdoor area adjoining a residence wordnet
- 3 A platform that extends outwards from a building.
"They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups."
- 4 a row of houses built in a similar style and having common dividing walls (or the street on which they face) wordnet
- 5 A raised, flat-topped bank of earth with sloping sides, especially one of a series for farming or leisure; a similar natural area of ground, often next to a river.
"All the buildings were well kept and there were terraces everywhere, most of them full of growing things."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity (with steep slopes above and below) wordnet
- 7 A step-like landform; (sometimes) remnants of floodplains.
- 8 A row of residential houses with no gaps between them; a group of row houses.
- 9 A street with such a group of houses in it.
- 10 A single house in such a group. UK, informal
"The cameraman's pace slowed down as he approached what his mind said was where Sian lived. Like all the other houses in the street, it was a Victorian terrace with a postage stamp of an overgrown garden between its front wall and the street."
- 11 The standing area of a sports stadium. British, in-plural
- 12 The roof of a building, especially if accessible to the residents. Often used for drying laundry, sun-drying foodstuffs, exercise, or sleeping outdoors in hot weather. India
- 13 A champagne, (an ordinary occupying) the base of the shield.
"VAN GENNEP uses, Or, on a terrace vert a tulip gules, slipped proper and crowned of the first; LOKE in Zealand has : Argent , on a terrace vert a tulip or, slipped and leaved proper."
Verb
- 1 To provide something with a terrace.
- 2 make into terraces as for cultivation wordnet
- 3 To form something into a terrace.
- 4 provide (a house) with a terrace wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A city in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, British Columbia, Canada.
- 2 A ghost town in Box Elder County, Utah, United States.
Example
"Could we have a table on the terrace?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "terrace"?
Common synonyms include: bench, patio, alley, alleyway, arterial, arterial highway.
How do you use "terrace" in a sentence?
Could we have a table on the terrace?
How do you pronounce "terrace"?
Pronounced /ˈtɛɹəs/.
Etymology
Borrowed from French terrasse, from Old Occitan terrassa, from terra (“land”). Doublet of terrasse.