tile

[tahyl]

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.

verb (used with object)

tiled, tiling 

1. to cover with or as with tiles.

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

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

verb

1. (tr) to cover with tiles

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tile¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tile¹

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

Example Sentences

The poignant mixed-media painting doubles as a large shop façade of crumbling, graffitied ceramic tiles with signage attached on a tarp.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It's an idyllic story-book image of a house – small and neat, with a sloping red tile roof.

Read more on BBC

But step into the backyard, past the colorful paintings, textiles, tiles, stained glass and ceramics and the new rear exterior — painted a bright yellow — and it’s like a completely different property.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Pasadena Museum of History, for instance, will host events with Cha-Rie Tang, founder of Pasadena Craftsman Tile — who makes intricate tiles inspired by the work of Southern California Arts and Crafts legend Ernest Batchelder.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The scorch marks from the fighting that day still mar the walls, and the underbrush of bullet-shattered tiles crackles with Messika’s every step.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• brick 
• plate 
• shingle