shingle

1 of 3

noun (1)

shin·​gle ˈshiŋ-gəl 

1

: a small thin piece of building material often with one end thicker than the other for laying in overlapping rows as a covering for the roof or sides of a building

2

: a small signboard especially designating a professional office

—used chiefly in the phrase hang out one's shingle

3

: a woman's haircut with the hair trimmed short from the back of the head to the nape

shingle

2 of 3

verb

shingled; shingling ˈshiŋ-g(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to cover with or as if with shingles

2

: to bob and shape (the hair) in a shingle

3

: to lay out or arrange so as to overlap

shingler

ˈshiŋ-g(ə-)lər 

noun

shingle

3 of 3

noun (2)

1

: coarse rounded detritus or alluvial material especially on the seashore that differs from ordinary gravel only in the larger size of the stones

2

: a place strewn with shingle

shingly

ˈshiŋ-g(ə-)lē 

adjective

Examples of shingle in a Sentence

Verb

a house shingled with cedar

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Another part of the campus has dozens of roofs just sticking above the ground as the shingles freeze and bake and are soaked by Mother Nature sometimes for more than a decade for more testing. —ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026

During the talk, Brooks joked about the seeming incongruity of teaching courses in emotional realism under the shingle of a public policy school. —Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 21 Apr. 2026

Verb

The iron weights that hang below the clock are spruce cones; the tiny roof is delicately shingled. —Kendra Atleework, Longreads, 12 Mar. 2026

And why his award-winning train station inspired by the one at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City stands out as much for its originality as for how every single stick and shingle in the basswood miniature is individual. —René Guzman, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English schingel, alteration of Old English scindel, from Medieval Latin scindula, alteration of Latin scandula

Noun (2)

Middle English chyngell; akin to Middle Low German singel seashore gravel

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing shingle

• hang out one's shingle

Rhymes for shingle

• commingle
• dingle
• ingle
• jingle
• lingle
• mingle
• pringle
• single
• swingle
• tingle
• intermingle

Kids Definition

shingle

1 of 2 noun

shin·​gle ˈshiŋ-gəl 

1

: a small thin piece of building material for laying in overlapping rows as a covering for the roof or sides of a building

2

: a small sign

3

: a woman's short haircut

shinglelike

-ˌlīk

adjective

shingle

2 of 2 verb

shingled; shingling -g(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to cover with or as if with shingles

2

: to cut and shape the hair in a shingle