Grading
The slope of soil around your house — it should fall away from the foundation.
Grading is simply the way the ground slopes around your home. It should drop at least a few inches over the first several feet so rain runs away from the foundation, not toward it. Negative grading (soil sloping back toward the house) is a leading cause of wet basements and foundation cracks, and it's often a cheap fix with a few yards of soil.