tile

1 of 3

noun (1)

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 3

verb

tiled; tiling

transitive verb

1

: to cover with tiles

2

: to install drainage tile in

tiler noun

tiler

3 of 3

noun (2)

til·​er

ˈtīlə(r)

plural -s

1

: one that lays tiles

2

or less commonly tyler

"

: a doorkeeper in a lodge of a secret society (as of Freemasons)

Examples of tile in a Sentence

Noun (1)

We installed new tile in the kitchen.

Verb

We hired him to tile the bathroom floor.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

One group even brought mahjong tiles to play in the breakfast room. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Nov. 2026

Dreier says the biggest hurdle for SpaceX in making Starship a rapidly reusable spacecraft is the vehicle's heat shield, the tiles that keep the vehicle from burning up in the atmosphere during reentry. — ABC News, 12 Nov. 2026

Verb

Zellers poured the foundation, and Morrison hired fellow ski bums to do the framing, masonry, and tiling. — Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026

Bathrooms are tiled in soothing colors and stocked with DS & Durga products. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

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

Noun (2)

Middle English tyler, from tile, tyle + -er

First Known Use

Noun (1)

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