tile
Americannoun
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tiles
plural
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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.
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any of various similar slabs or pieces, as of linoleum, stone, rubber, or metal.
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tiles collectively.
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a flat, rectangular playing piece used in certain games, as Scrabble and mah-jongg.
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a pottery tube or pipe used for draining land.
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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.
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Informal. a stiff hat or high silk hat.
verb (used with object)
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tiles,
present (3rd person singular)
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tiled,
past participle, past
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tiling
present participle
noun
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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
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a short pipe made of earthenware, concrete, or plastic, used with others to form a drain
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tiles collectively
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a rectangular block used as a playing piece in mah jong and other games
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old-fashioned a hat
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informal on a spree, esp of drinking or debauchery
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tilesimple
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tilessimple
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have tiledperfect
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has tiledperfect
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am tilingprogressive
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are tilingprogressive
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is tilingprogressive
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have been tilingperfect progressive
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has been tilingperfect progressive
Past
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tiledsimple
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had tiledperfect
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was tilingprogressive
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were tilingprogressive
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had been tilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tile
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English tīgele (cognate with German Ziegel ), from Latin tēgula
Explanation
A tile is a flat piece of material that's used to cover a roof, floor, or wall. If you're artistic, you can make a mosaic out of small, colorful glass tiles. Most tiles are made out of ceramic, metal, glass, or stone. Many baths and showers are lined with ceramic tiles, and it's also common to find tiles covering bathroom and kitchen floors. Historians have traced tiles back at least as far as the 13th century BCE, in Mesopotamia. To cover a surface in tiles is to tile. Flat, hard game pieces are also commonly known as tiles, like the Scrabble tiles you pick at the beginning of a game. The root of this word means "to cover."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
On her way out, Nanna pocketed a mosaic tile depicting the shape-shifting Greek sea god Proteus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Upon entering the home, guests are greeted with an elegant foyer, which boasts an elegant staircase and tile floors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Inside, Portuguese tile, raffia and colorful linens fill airy living spaces that open onto private pools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Mosaic tile lettering on the floors marking each apartment number is a recreation of the originals.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
I ran across campus, noticing many old buildings with red tile roofs.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
"Things like ceiling tiles were broken. There was dust and debris when things were disturbed, though at the time she didn't know what it was."
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Excellent, if your tastes trend toward carpet tiles, hospital lighting, and the trapped-animal sensation of entering a room with no exit.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
There is the intermittent purr of generators, dogs barking, and, from time to time, the dry clack of domino tiles echoing in the street.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Totoki, 62, grew up in Yamaguchi, a prefecture on the westernmost tip of Japan’s main island famous for lush forests and noodles fried on hot tiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The grand gate tore apart as if made of paper, scattering tiles and stone on the earth like sudden rain.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
This country is tiled with adrift twentysomething males, beset with incoherent politics, whose opinion about any issue is generated in the 10 seconds after they’ve been asked the question.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026
The Cinerama Dome originally opened in 1963 with its white tiled design and distinctive marquee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
Following the incident, photos posted on social media showed shattered glass in the snow outside the entrance to the embassy's consular section, cracks in a glass door and dark marks on a tiled floor.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
The chef’s kitchen is the epitome of luxury thanks to its high ceilings adorned in wooden beams, marble tiled flooring, wooden island table, and state-of-the-art appliances.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
“No,” said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Meanwhile the tiling for the kitchen has, Lorenze revealed, been specially created for the couple featuring designs that reflect their passions, interests, and romantic milestones.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
Well-known visual examples of this kind of tiling can be found in the artwork of M.C.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 7, 2026
A student visa for Belarus, available in three weeks for 2.75 million CFA, sought-after tiling jobs in Dubai, and a three-month employment contract in Latvia are just some of the options on the list.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2025
It features a vintage kitchen with pink-and-white tiling, drab olive walls and industrial brown flooring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025
Ralph turned to the shelter and lifted a branch with a whole tiling of leaves.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
