A step pyramid is a mostly solid masonry construction similar to a simple pyramid, with 3 or 4 sides rising symmetrically to a narrow top, except that the sloping form is indented by large horizontal terraces. This form includes the ziggurats of Mesopotamia as well as multi-staged pyramids of Central America, Egypt, Eastern Asia, and other places.

The major horizontal terraces interrupt the ascending masonry mass. They distinguish the form from the continuous sloping walls of a pyramid.

The structure remains mostly solid rather than an ordinary building enclosing rooms beneath a stepped outline. The terraces articulate the exterior shape of the mass.