tile

[ tahyl ]

/ taɪl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tile ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

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

tiles collectively.

a pottery tube or pipe used for draining land.

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.

Informal. a stiff hat or high silk hat.

verb (used with object), tiled, til·ing.

to cover with or as with tiles.

Nearby words

Origin of tile

before 900; Middle English; Old English tīgele (cognate with German Ziegel) < Latin tēgula

Related formstile·like, adjectivere·tile, verb (used with object), re·tiled, re·til·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tile

Tile work in the bathrooms, furniture, and artwork on the walls all flowed together and carried his creative touch.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More|Gary Wright|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Revered and dutiful, he fought (and was injured) in World War II, and succeeded to the tile in 1953.
For Sale: The $3M British Mountain—With Aristocratic Family Feud Included|Tom Sykes|August 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As I reach the berm of sand, tile and stucco that marked a kind of front line, bodies are being piled on carts in the street.
Who Is Behind Gaza's Mass Execution?|Jesse Rosenfeld|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She glided over the tile floor like a gazelle and had a face that Amedeo Modigliani would have died for.
They Were Perfect Together|Lawrence Schiller|November 22, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Mayo does advise that pregnant women avoid swordfish, king mackerel, shark, and tile fish.
Jeremy Piven's Fishy Excuse|Amanda Fortini|January 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST
As for the nails, they were found, two years afterwards, under a tile!
Thunder and Lightning|Camille Flammarion
Aaron, having no pencil, traced with a greasy finger on the tile floor the outlines of the barn and farmhouse he envisaged.
Blind Man's Lantern|Allen Kim Lang
And the said frame, stage, and staircases to be covered with tile.
Shakespearean Playhouses|Joseph Quincy Adams
The roof of the shanty was covered with tile which looked like broken flower-pots.
Vine and Olive; Or Young America in Spain and Portugal|Oliver Optic
If some such protection be not provided dirt is almost sure to fall on the flat surface and the tile will be spoiled.
The Potter's Craft|Charles F. Binns

British Dictionary definitions for tile

tile

/ (taɪl) /

noun

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, etcRelated adjective: tegular

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

tiles collectively

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

British old-fashioned, slang a hat

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

verb

(tr) to cover with tiles

Derived Formstiler, noun

Word Origin for tile

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

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

Word Origin and History for tile

tile

Old English tigele "roofing shingle," from West Germanic *tegala (cf. Old High German ziagal, German ziegel, Dutch tegel, Old Norse tigl), a borrowing from Latin tegula "tile" (cf. Italian tegola, French tuile), from tegere "roof, to cover" (see stegosaurus). Also used in Old English and early Middle English for "brick," before that word came into use. The verb meaning "to cover with tiles" is recorded from late 14c.