tile

noun, often attributive

\ ˈtī(-ə)l

Definition of tile

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

tile

verb

tiled; tiling

Definition of tile (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to cover with tiles

2 : to install drainage tile in

Other Words from tile Example Sentences Learn More about tile

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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

Across from the kitchen sits a fully built out shower with composting toilet, black tiles, and a skylight. — Megan Barber, Curbed, "Cool camper van is like a hip apartment on wheels," 18 June 2019 Open Artist Studio: Saturday, June 22, at 10:30 a.m. Paint on ceramic tiles. — courant.com, "Community News For The Stafford Edition," 14 June 2019 Learn new skills in the classroom, then grab your camera and hit the streets, photographing the Alfama neighborhood's crooked cobblestone lanes, painted Portuguese azulejo tiles, and dramatic modern street murals towering over the sidewalks. — National Geographic, "Lisbon High School Photography Workshop," 12 June 2019 Rockwell’s compact circular saw packs 4.0 amp of power into a handheld design to cut tile, wood, sheet metal, plastics, flooring, and more—with just one hand. — Paige Szmodis, Popular Mechanics, "Save Big on Saw and Drill Kits With This Amazon Daily Deal," 11 June 2019 Sourcing inspiration from Italian designer Gio Ponti’s ceramic majolica tiles, Brooklinen and The Inside played with color and geometry to produce a collection of luxe sheets for every design style. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "The Inside and Brooklinen’s New Collaboration is a Design Dream Come True," 25 Apr. 2019 Inside, original floors in the 1987 house have been replaced with handmade and painted Italian ceramic floor tiles. — Janet Eastman, OregonLive.com, "Home-selling etiquette: Lake Oswego homeowner's letter to neighbors (photos)," 8 June 2018 The walls are decorated with plastered plant motifs and both the ceiling and fireplace are covered with ceramic tiles. — Houston Chronicle, "City pool opens for summer; extensive renovations complete," 26 May 2018 Over time, the pit in the field was filled with brick, dead livestock, aluminum and ceramic roofing tiles. — Washington Post, "74 years later, a pilot who crashed in France returns home," 26 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

At the estate’s highest point, with views for miles, our guide Antonio pointed out a patch of ground, leveled and tiled, where overnight guests can come to eat dinner and stargaze. — Matthew Kronsberg, WSJ, "Vacation in Portugal the Less-Obvious Way," 10 Aug. 2018 The walls are lined with wooden slats, the floor is tiled with black and white, and seating is limited to a few narrow tables and bar stools. — Annette Tan, Condé Nast Traveler, "16 Best Cafes in Singapore," 4 Mar. 2018 Photo: Vanessa Berberian for The Wall Street Journal More from Mansion The kitchen cabinets and countertops are made from dark wenge hardwood, and its floor is tiled in a herringbone pattern of black bricks. — Ruth Bloomfield, WSJ, "Building a Home Over the Office to Achieve Work-Life Balance," 20 Nov. 2018 The newly tiled, sleek white bathroom has a shower-over-tub. — Julie Lasky, New York Times, "$600,000 Homes in Florida, Connecticut and California," 24 Jan. 2018 Heading east, Pakenham spies a parked van from a tiling company and clicks on his iPhone — the first step in collecting evidence. — Elizabeth Royte, Daily Intelligencer, "George Pakenham is waging a one-man war on air pollution on the Upper West Side.," 10 July 2018 One of the property’s three bathrooms, tiled in marble. — Ruth Bloomfield, WSJ, "How to Live Luxe—and With Light—in a Basement Home," 13 June 2018 German firm Bureau Oberhaeuser has a new concept for Tesla's interface that takes a cue from the world of smart devices and tablets, allowing multiple apps to be tiled at once and moved around at will. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "Imagine If Your Tesla's Console Worked Like This," 18 Mar. 2015 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

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.