tile

American  

[tahyl] / taɪl /

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.

3. tiles collectively.

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

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

6. 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.

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

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verb (used with object)

tiled, tiling

1. to cover with or as with tiles.

tile British  

/ 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

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

3. tiles collectively

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

5. old-fashioned a hat

6. informal on a spree, esp of drinking or debauchery

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verb

1. (tr) to cover with tiles

Other Word Forms

• retile verb (used with object)
• tilelike adjective
• tiler noun

Etymology

Origin of tile

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

Example Sentences

However, there are several pops of color throughout the home, including a large pink couch in one of the living areas, as well as funky yellow-and-green tile in a bathroom.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

The tile chain, based in Enderby, Leicestershire, said closing 7% of its 319-strong estate would help cut costs as part of "significant self-help measures".

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

"We are suffering a lot," said Kishor Dulera, a tile unit proprietor who closed this factory and two others in early March, sending hundreds of workers home.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

The two-story pool house’s red tile roof, wooden trellises and Spanish Colonial Revival features will look roughly the same on the outside, Kingsnorth said, and the rehabilitation will comply with federal standards for historic structures.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

Today, it’s the posters plastered on the dingy tile walls of the subway station at 135th and St. Nicholas.

From "Watch Us Rise" by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

Related Words

• brick
• plate
• shingle