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
tiled; tiling
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
Ben Olsen, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Apr. 2024
But the United States continued to import the mineral to help create products such as roofing materials, vinyl tile and cement pipes.
—Elizabeth B. Kim, The Enquirer, 7 Apr. 2024
Inside, the airy villa features pale blue and white plush sofas complemented by light wood furnishings and beautifully patterned floor tiles.
—Devorah Lev-Tov, Travel + Leisure, 5 Apr. 2024
Built in 2002, the mansion plays up its Italian influence with a white stucco exterior accented by terracotta roof tiles and an arched entryway.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
Archaeologists found piles of lime, stones, ceramics, tiles, bricks and tools, frozen in time under layers of volcanic ash.
—Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
Several feature the original 1930 black and white mosaic tile and six-foot cast-iron tubs.
—The Arizona Republic, 30 Mar. 2024
Each square of the tile floor was covered with a mud mask.
—Nicole Pyles, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Mar. 2024
Unlike other tiles that are finished with a layer of impervious glaze, Leflore points out that the appearance of cement tiles is meant to patinate with time.
—Gisela Williams Marina O’Loughlin Roxanne Fequiere Camille Sojit Pejcha Gisela Williams, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Wesley Morris, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
This might look like, for instance, covering a curved surface by tiling it with octagons so that there aren’t any gaps between the shapes, which are nonoverlapping.
—Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 6 Dec. 2023
The walls were tiled and there was significantly more headroom.
—NBC News, 8 Feb. 2024
Convex pentagons that tile the plane were trickier to classify.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 Oct. 2023
If the plane is tiled with this kind of superposition, there’s a procedure for filling in gaps without revealing any information about the overall quantum state.
—Ben Brubaker, WIRED, 17 Mar. 2024
My new home’s bathroom is fully tiled from floor to ceiling, and the toilet is right next to the shower.
—Meggen Harris, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Each card has a point value and a pictogram that tells you which tiles on the board the card affects relative to its position.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 26 Feb. 2024
At some locations Hamas spent the effort to tile the tunnels and the rooms built off to the side.
—Michael Tobin, Fox News, 12 Feb. 2024
Noun
Defined by its black lacquer panelling and geometric tiles, its floor-to-ceiling windows make an equally striking feature of the harbour outside.
—Ben Olsen, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Apr. 2024
But the United States continued to import the mineral to help create products such as roofing materials, vinyl tile and cement pipes.
—Elizabeth B. Kim, The Enquirer, 7 Apr. 2024
Inside, the airy villa features pale blue and white plush sofas complemented by light wood furnishings and beautifully patterned floor tiles.
—Devorah Lev-Tov, Travel + Leisure, 5 Apr. 2024
Built in 2002, the mansion plays up its Italian influence with a white stucco exterior accented by terracotta roof tiles and an arched entryway.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
Archaeologists found piles of lime, stones, ceramics, tiles, bricks and tools, frozen in time under layers of volcanic ash.
—Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
Several feature the original 1930 black and white mosaic tile and six-foot cast-iron tubs.
—The Arizona Republic, 30 Mar. 2024
Each square of the tile floor was covered with a mud mask.
—Nicole Pyles, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Mar. 2024
Unlike other tiles that are finished with a layer of impervious glaze, Leflore points out that the appearance of cement tiles is meant to patinate with time.
—Gisela Williams Marina O’Loughlin Roxanne Fequiere Camille Sojit Pejcha Gisela Williams, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Verb
Sometimes, Lopez can trick you into believing that life should be a parka hood with a mile of fur trim or a giant house with your nickname tiled all over in knockoff glamour.
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
This might look like, for instance, covering a curved surface by tiling it with octagons so that there aren’t any gaps between the shapes, which are nonoverlapping.
—Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 6 Dec. 2023
The walls were tiled and there was significantly more headroom.
—NBC News, 8 Feb. 2024
Convex pentagons that tile the plane were trickier to classify.
—Quanta Magazine, 30 Oct. 2023
If the plane is tiled with this kind of superposition, there’s a procedure for filling in gaps without revealing any information about the overall quantum state.
—Ben Brubaker, WIRED, 17 Mar. 2024
My new home’s bathroom is fully tiled from floor to ceiling, and the toilet is right next to the shower.
—Meggen Harris, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Each card has a point value and a pictogram that tells you which tiles on the board the card affects relative to its position.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 26 Feb. 2024
At some locations Hamas spent the effort to tile the tunnels and the rooms built off to the side.
—Michael Tobin, Fox News, 12 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tile
Cite this Entry
“Tile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tile. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tile
1 of 2 noun1
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
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