shingle

1 of 4

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 4

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 4

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

shingler

4 of 4

noun (3)

shin·​gler -g(ə)lə(r) 

plural -s

: one that shingles: such as

a

: one who shingles especially roofs

b

: a man or a machine that makes shingles

c

: a workman who tends a shingling machine or hammer

d

: a machine for shingling puddled iron

Examples of shingle in a Sentence

Verb

a house shingled with cedar

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Carol Garrett, his mother, previously told TMZ her son had gone to the emergency room in extreme pain a week before his death and was diagnosed with shingles. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026

Patching individual vulnerabilities is like replacing shingles on a decaying roof. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Verb

Harpswell, Maine In Bailey Island in Casco Bay, this 1896 shingled five-bedroom has a beach and ocean frontage. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 20 July 2026

The island had gone from farm and pasture in the nineteenth century to nature preserves and residential property in the twentieth, its silvery shingled homes encircled by forests and deer. — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 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

Noun (3)

Middle English shyngeler, from shyngel, schingel shingle + -er

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