tile

noun, often attributive \ ˈtī(-ə)l \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Definition of tile

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

— on the tiles

British

: engaged in late-night carousing

See tile defined for English-language learners

See tile defined for kids

Examples of tile in a Sentence

We installed new tile in the kitchen.

Recent Examples of tile from the Web

Ceiling tiles with apparent bullet holes in them, removed from directly above the shooting area and also not introduced at trial, were destroyed by the police, too.

— tom jackman, Washington Post, "Did L.A. police and prosecutors bungle the Bobby Kennedy assassination probe?," 5 June 2018
Asbestos tiles at District 64 facilities are now covered with carpet and pose no risk to students unless disturbed, Director of Facility Management Ron George has told board members.

— heather cherone, chicagotribune.com, "New playground, new assistant principal headed to Washington Elementary in Park Ridge," 29 May 2018
Steel and concrete workers are finishing their work and transitioning out, as carpenters, drywallers, tile installers, and painters are coming on board.

— mark arsenault, BostonGlobe.com, "Encore Boston Harbor rising to the challenge," 25 May 2018
The master bath’s sinks and fittings are by Waterworks, the sconces are by Circa Lighting, the wallpaper is by Timorous Beasties, and the wall and floor tiles are by ASN Natural Stone.

— as told to ingrid abramovitch, ELLE Decor, "Tour A Sonoma Valley Lake House Rippling with Patterns and Color," 15 May 2018
The camera takes in an acoustic-tile ceiling, wall-to-wall carpeting, bare drywall, and a fourposter bed.

— nick paumgarten, The New Yorker, "How Fortnite Captured Teens’ Hearts and Minds," 14 May 2018
There's also a large dressing area and bathroom with subway tile stand-up shower.

— joey morona, cleveland.com, "Charming lakefront century home for under a $1 million: House of the Week," 11 May 2018
The two-bedroom apartment features a private terrace with stunning city views, a master suite with walk-in closet and marble tile shower, and an upgraded kitchen with an oversized island and wine fridge.

— sarah gish, kansascity, "Two Light tour: Downtown KC's new high-rise has two pools, a luxe penthouse | The Kansas City Star," 3 May 2018
Their result was similar to the dose found in physical objects taken from the site, including bricks and house tiles.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "Researchers Identify How Much Radiation Hiroshima Victims Were Exposed to," 3 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of tile

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

tile

verb

Definition of tile

tiled; tiling

transitive verb

1 : to cover with tiles

2 : to install drainage tile in

—

tiler

noun

See tile defined for English-language learners

Examples of tile in a Sentence

We hired him to tile the bathroom floor.

Recent Examples of tile from the Web

On the ceiling the space between the beams is tiled with ceramic vine motifs.

— Houston Chronicle, "City pool opens for summer; extensive renovations complete," 26 May 2018
Hardwood floors make up the living areas, while carpeting is found in the bedrooms, and tiling in the bathrooms.

— lauren ro, Curbed, "Midcentury modern charmer wants $799K," 9 Apr. 2018
Up to four Surface Hub 2s can be tiled together in either portrait or landscape mode.

— peter bright, Ars Technica, "Surface Hub 2 coming in 2019, looks amazing," 15 May 2018
The outside of the box has a cartoon of her face tiled across, while the palette itself has her meme-worthy quote written over the Kylie logo.

— jenna rosenstein, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kris Jenner Is Releasing Her Own Kylie Cosmetics Collection," 8 May 2018
The five-bedroom, five-bathroom property has a courtyard tiled with clay tiles, and a heated swimming pool.

— ruth bloomfield, WSJ, "The Exotic—and Chaotic—Medina of Marrakesh Lures Home Buyers," 2 May 2018
When the owner and trainer of Derby hopeful Bolt d’Oro started a business tiling swimming pools at 18, for one painful example, no one explained payroll taxes.

— bryce miller, sandiegouniontribune.com, "NBC to shine huge Kentucky Derby spotlight on San Diego," 2 May 2018
In the 1970s, Marjorie Rice, a homemaker with no mathematical background, ran across a Scientific American column about pentagons that tile the plane.

— evelyn lamb, WIRED, "An Anti-Aging Pundit Solves a Decades-Old Math Problem," 30 Apr. 2018
On the ceiling the space between the beams is tiled with ceramic vine motifs.

— mayra cruz, Houston Chronicle, "Tomball ISD considers proposals to design, build new $51.2 million stadium," 7 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of tile

13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

TILE Defined for English Language Learners

tile

noun

Definition of tile for English Language Learners

: a usually flat piece of hard clay, stone, or other material that is used for covering walls, floors, etc.
: a curved piece of hard clay that is used for covering roofs
: a small, flat piece that is used in some board games