shingle

¹ American  

[shing-guhl] / ˈʃɪŋ gəl /

noun

1. a thin piece of wood, slate, metal, asbestos, or the like, usually oblong, laid in overlapping rows to cover the roofs and walls of buildings.

2. a woman's close-cropped haircut.

3. Informal. a small signboard, especially as hung before a doctor's or lawyer's office.

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verb (used with object)

shingled, shingling

1. to cover with shingles, as a roof.

2. to cut (hair) close to the head.

idioms

1. hang out one's shingle, to establish a professional practice, especially in law or medicine; open an office.

2. have / be a shingle short, to be mentally disturbed, mad, or eccentric.

shingle ² American  

[shing-guhl] / ˈʃɪŋ gəl /

noun

1. small, waterworn stones or pebbles such as lie in loose sheets or beds on a beach.

2. a beach, riverbank, or other area covered with such small pebbles or stones.

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shingle ³ American  

[shing-guhl] / ˈʃɪŋ gəl /

verb (used with object)

Metalworking.

shingled, shingling

1. to hammer or squeeze (puddled iron) into a bloom or billet, eliminating as much slag as possible; knobble.

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shingle ¹ British  

/ ˈʃɪŋɡəl /

noun

1. a thin rectangular tile, esp one made of wood, that is laid with others in overlapping rows to cover a roof or a wall

2. a woman's short-cropped hairstyle

3. a small signboard or nameplate fixed outside the office of a doctor, lawyer, etc

4. informal unintelligent or mentally subnormal

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verb

1. to cover (a roof or a wall) with shingles

2. to cut (the hair) in a short-cropped style

shingle ² British  

/ ˈʃɪŋɡəl /

noun

1. coarse gravel, esp the pebbles found on beaches

2. a place or area strewn with shingle

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shingle ³ British  

/ ˈʃɪŋɡəl /

verb

1. (tr) metallurgy to hammer or squeeze the slag out of (iron) after puddling in the production of wrought iron

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shingle More Idioms  

1. see hang out one's shingle.

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Other Word Forms

• shingler noun
• shingly adjective

Etymology

Origin of shingle¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English scincle, sc(h)ingle, shyngle, ultimately from Latin scindula, variant of scandula “lath, shingle” ( Middle English -g- is unexplained); Latin scindula is due perhaps to association with Greek schíza, schídax “piece of split wood, splinter”

Origin of shingle²

First recorded in 1530–40; apparently variant of earlier chingle; further origin uncertain; but compare North Frisian singel “gravel,” Norwegian singel “small stones”

Origin of shingle³

First recorded in 1665–75; from French cingler “to whip, beat,” from German zängeln “to shingle,” derivative of Zange “pincers, pliers”; tong

Explanation

A shingle is a thin piece of wood used in making a roof or a signboard outside an office, especially a doctor’s or lawyer's. If you’re opening a business, hang your shingle outside so people can find you. One kind of shingle is a rectangular piece of wood or other material used to make a roof. The other is a type of small sign outside an office that shows someone is ready to see clients, patients, or other types of customers. The word shingle is from the Latin scindere for "to split,” as in splitting wood, and whatever you do with a shingle, it’s a small flat hunk of wood.

Example Sentences

Sandgate Granville Parade Beach, Kent – a shingle beach used by swimmers and kayakers.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

My family lived in East Highland Park, Va., just outside of Richmond, in an 800-square-foot house clad in gray asphalt shingle siding.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025

By that time, Emmett’s longtime shingle Emmett/Furla Oasis had collapsed under the weight of millions of dollars of debt to former financiers and co-producers.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2025

Facing opposition from builders and the timber industry, the state continued to allow wood shingle roofs until 2001.

From Salon • Jan. 26, 2025

My feet made a queer crunching noise as I crossed the shingle.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Related Words

• affidavit
• authentication
• authorization
• certification
• coupon
• credential
• deed
• diploma
• documentation
• guarantee
• license
• paper
• permit
• receipt
• ticket
• voucher
• warrant
• warranty