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
tiled; tiling
tiler
noun
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
Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 23 Mar. 2025
This can include body handling (including paws, gums and ears), novel sounds like sirens, music, doorbells, laughter, crying and cheering, walking on different surfaces such as grass, pavement, sand, tile, tin foil, dirt, carpet and hardwood and meeting all kinds of people and pets.
—Jen Reeder, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
PCMAG, 12 Mar. 2025
Some TikTokers are tiling bird baths, while others are getting creative with tabletops.
—Maggie Gillette, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tile
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Noun
The ammonia in Windex may harm wood, so save this trick for laminates or tile.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 23 Mar. 2025
This can include body handling (including paws, gums and ears), novel sounds like sirens, music, doorbells, laughter, crying and cheering, walking on different surfaces such as grass, pavement, sand, tile, tin foil, dirt, carpet and hardwood and meeting all kinds of people and pets.
—Jen Reeder, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Verb
Going back to a 13-inch Air for my recent review felt comparatively cramped, whereas the 15-inch model is roomier in every way: more space on the keyboard deck to rest my palms, more screen space on which to tile my open apps, and more trackpad space for navigating macOS.
—PCMAG, 12 Mar. 2025
Some TikTokers are tiling bird baths, while others are getting creative with tabletops.
—Maggie Gillette, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tile
Cite this Entry
“Tile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tile. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tile
1 of 2 noun1
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
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