A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a step pattern above the roof as a decoration and as a convenient way to finish the brick courses. A stepped parapet may appear on building facades with or without gable ends, and even upon a false front.

The oldest examples can be seen in Ghent (Flanders, Belgium) and date from the 12th century, such as the Spijker house on the Graslei, and some other Romanesque buildings in the city. From there, they spread to the whole of Northern Europe from the 13th century, in particular in cities of the Hanseatic League (with brick Gothic style), and then to Central Europe by the next century. These gables are numerous in Belgium, France (French Flanders, Eastern Normandy, Picardy and Alsace), the Netherlands, all Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, and the Baltic States. They are also present but much rarer in the British Isles although the Old Elizabethan Library at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, dates to 1590. Crow-stepped gables are especially common on traditional Flemish and Dutch houses and on mediaeval Danish churches.

Crow-stepped gables were also used in Scotland as early as the 16th century. Examples of Scottish crow-stepped gables can be seen at Muchalls Castle, Monboddo House, and the Stonehaven Tolbooth, all late 16th and early 17th century buildings.

Nineteenth-century examples are found in North America, and the step gable is also a feature of the northern-Renaissance Revival and Dutch Colonial Revival styles.

In some regions of France, it's a utilitarian element in the architecture of thatched rural houses, where flat stones cover the load-bearing walls. In other regions, such as northern France (notably in the Soissonnais region), or Scotland, it is a purely decorative element in ashlar. Another version of the stepped gable with a purely decorative role is found in so-called noble or urban architecture, mainly in northern and central Europe, such as Germany, Flanders and the Netherlands.

In the rural architecture of various regions of France, the crenellated gables still visible on dwellings and barns are generally linked to the former existence of thatch roofing on these buildings, replaced during the 19th century by slate or flat tile roofing.

The main advantages of the vertical projection of the gable slopes were to prevent the thatched roof from being “unplucked” in high winds, to facilitate access to the roof ridge and to act as a firebreak.

In rural architecture, redents are generally covered with flat stones to protect them from the rain, prevent water infiltration into the load-bearing wall, and enable the roofer or road worker to place his tools. These stones often (but not always) slope downwards to allow rainwater to drain away.