tile

1 of 2

noun

ˈtī(-ə)l 

often attributive

1

plural tiles or tile

a

: a flat or curved piece of fired clay, stone, or concrete used especially for roofs, floors, or walls and often for ornamental work

b

: a hollow or a semicircular and open earthenware or concrete piece used in constructing a drain

c

: a hollow building unit made of fired clay or of shale or gypsum

2

: tiling

3

: a thin piece of resilient material (such as cork, linoleum, or rubber) used especially for covering floors or walls

4

: a thin piece resembling a ceramic tile that usually bears a mark or letter and is used as a playing piece in a board game (such as mah-jongg)

5

: hat

especially : a high silk hat

see also on the tiles

tile

2 of 2

verb

tiled; tiling

transitive verb

1

: to cover with tiles

2

: to install drainage tile in

tiler noun

Examples of tile in a Sentence

Noun

We installed new tile in the kitchen.

Verb

We hired him to tile the bathroom floor.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The back hallway, just off the home’s side entrance, serves as a mudroom and has stylish ceramic tile on the floor. —Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 11 Jan. 2026

Whether your floors are in the kitchen, bathroom, or entryway, keeping grout lines clean can instantly refresh your space and help preserve the condition of your tile, too. —Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 11 Jan. 2026

Verb

Other variants tile the lenses of insect eyes and form corky plate patterns in the elephant’s foot plant. —Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Scientific American, 5 Jan. 2026

The subterranean site, which closed 80 years ago, is noted for its architectural grandeur with chandeliers, glass skylights and tiled vaulted tunnels. —Emma Bowman, NPR, 31 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English tigele, from Latin tegula tile; akin to Latin tegere to cover — more at thatch

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tile

• aisle
• bile
• chyle
• file
• guile
• heil
• isle
• kyle
• mile
• pile
• rile
• smile

Kids Definition

tile

1 of 2 noun

ˈtī(ə)l 

1

plural tiles or tile

a

: a flat or curved piece (as of fired clay, stone, or concrete) used especially for roofs or floors

b

: a pipe of earthenware used for a drain

2

: a thin piece of material (as linoleum or rubber) for covering floors or walls

tile

2 of 2 verb

tiled; tiling

: to cover with tiles