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:
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
Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2026 The bathrooms are simple — one with classic prewar details, the other with less appealing large format white tiles. —Katie McDonough, Curbed, 27 Apr. 2026
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026 The bathroom is simple with what looks like a fresh tiling job and a tub. —Katie McDonough, Curbed, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tile
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Adam Pham, 39, cupped his hand over a tile and drew it up to his face so others could not see. —Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2026 The bathrooms are simple — one with classic prewar details, the other with less appealing large format white tiles. —Katie McDonough, Curbed, 27 Apr. 2026
Verb
Fairmont Gold rooms typically come with butler service and a Gold lounge access and the honeymoon suite breaks the design color code to introduce a hint of red in the artworks, the tub as well as the bathroom tiles. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026 The bathroom is simple with what looks like a fresh tiling job and a tub. —Katie McDonough, Curbed, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tile
Cite this Entry
“Tile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/tile. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tile
1 of 2 noun
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
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