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 remainder will be ground-floor retail anchored by TileBar, which specializes in tile and bath design, not cocktails. —Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 2026

Alongside this project, the company is also advancing the UK’s first fully electric tunnel kiln for roof tile production at its Broomfleet site—highlighting a diversified, multi-technology pathway toward achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. —Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026

Verb

Bathrooms are smartly designed to fit large shower-baths into a relatively compact space; tiling is dark and mirrored with pleasing gold accents. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Mar. 2026

When tiling a fireplace, choose a tile material with high heat resistance. —Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Mar. 2026

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