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terrace

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "terrace", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "terrace" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "terrace" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

terrace is aEnglishnoun. It means: A flat open area on the topmost floor of a building or apartment Pronounced /ˈtɛɹəs/. It ranks #8,617 in English word frequency. Often confused with trace and Thrace.

Key facts for terrace
PropertyValue
Headwordterrace
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɛɹəs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,617
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of terrace in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for terrace is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɛɹəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,617 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for terrace, with forms such as "etrrace", "terace", and "terarce". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "trace", "Thrace", "terrain", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French terrasse, from Old Occitan terrassa, from terra (“land”). Doublet of terrasse. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is terrace, spelled T-E-R-R-A-C-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A flat open area on the topmost floor of a building or apartment
  2. 2
    A platform that extends outwards from a building.
  3. 3
    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.
  4. 4
    A step-like landform; (sometimes) remnants of floodplains.
  5. 5
    A row of residential houses with no gaps between them; a group of row houses.
  6. 6
    A street with such a group of houses in it.
  7. 7
    A single house in such a group.
  8. 8
    The standing area of a sports stadium.
  9. 9
    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.
  10. 10
    A champagne, (an ordinary occupying) the base of the shield.

Etymology

Borrowed from French terrasse, from Old Occitan terrassa, from terra (“land”). Doublet of terrasse.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: etrrace,terace,terarce,terracce,terraec,terrcae,trerace,tterrace

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for terrace

Misspelling Variants of "terrace"

etrrace7terace6terarce7terracce8terraec7terrcae7trerace7tterrace8
Misspelling Variants of "terrace"

Frequency rank: #8,617 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "terrace"?
"terrace" is spelled T-E-R-R-A-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɛɹəs/.
What does "terrace" mean?
As a noun, "terrace" means: A flat open area on the topmost floor of a building or apartment
What words are commonly confused with "terrace"?
"terrace" is commonly confused with "trace", "Thrace", "terrain". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "terrace"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "terrace" is /ˈtɛɹəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "terrace"?
Borrowed from French terrasse, from Old Occitan terrassa, from terra (“land”). Doublet of terrasse. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter T in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.