tile

[ tahyl ]
See synonyms for tile on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a thin slab or bent piece of baked clay, sometimes painted or glazed, used for various purposes, as to form one of the units of a roof covering, floor, or revetment.

  2. any of various similar slabs or pieces, as of linoleum, stone, rubber, or metal.

  1. tiles collectively.

  2. a flat, rectangular playing piece used in certain games, as Scrabble and mah-jongg.

  3. a pottery tube or pipe used for draining land.

  4. Also called hollow tile. any of various hollow or cellular units of burnt clay or other materials, as gypsum or cinder concrete, for building walls, partitions, floors, and roofs, or for fireproofing steelwork or the like.

  5. Informal. a stiff hat or high silk hat.

verb (used with object),tiled, til·ing.
  1. to cover with or as with tiles.

Origin of tile

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English tīgele (cognate with German Ziegel ), from Latin tēgula

Other words from tile

  • tilelike, adjective
  • re·tile, verb (used with object), re·tiled, re·til·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tile in a sentence

  • She heard through the half-open door Mr. Orgreave's slippers on the tiles of the passage leading to the stairs.

    Hilda Lessways | Arnold Bennett
  • In a sweeping passion she seized a glass vase from the table and flung it upon the tiles of the hearth.

  • The tiles were generally smaller, two or three being required for an adult grave.

    The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry Withrow
  • These graves were once all hermetically sealed by slabs of marble, or tiles of terra cotta.

    The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry Withrow
  • Most of these slabs and tiles have disappeared, and many of the graves have long been rifled of their contents.

    The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry Withrow

British Dictionary definitions for tile

tile

/ (taɪl) /


noun
  1. a flat thin slab of fired clay, rubber, linoleum, etc, usually square or rectangular and sometimes ornamental, used with others to cover a roof, floor, wall, etc: Related adjective: tegular

  2. a short pipe made of earthenware, concrete, or plastic, used with others to form a drain

  1. tiles collectively

  2. a rectangular block used as a playing piece in mah jong and other games

  3. British old-fashioned, slang a hat

  4. on the tiles informal on a spree, esp of drinking or debauchery

verb
  1. (tr) to cover with tiles

Origin of tile

1
Old English tīgele, from Latin tēgula; related to German Ziegel

Derived forms of tile

  • tiler, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012