A terrace is a flat, level area created on a slope or hillside, like a step carved into the side of a hill. Imagine a mountain covered in rice fields that look like giant staircases: each flat platform is a terrace, allowing farmers to grow crops on land that would otherwise be too steep to use.

People build terraces for practical reasons. In ancient Peru, the Inca carved thousands of terraces into the Andes Mountains to farm corn and potatoes at high altitudes. In Asia, farmers have created spectacular terraced rice paddies that transform mountainsides into productive farmland. Each terrace catches rainwater and helps prevent soil from washing down the hill.

The word also describes a flat outdoor area connected to a house or building, like a paved patio where you might eat dinner outside, or a rooftop terrace where people relax high above the city streets. Some restaurants have terraces with tables overlooking gardens or waterfronts.

Terraced houses (common in British English) are rows of homes joined together side by side, sharing walls with their neighbors. Americans might call these townhouses or row houses.