tiles

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   flat, usually square pieces of baked clay, stone, or other material used to cover floors, walls, or roofs.

   Grammar: The singular is tile; use tiles when you mean more than one or the material in general.

   Patterns

   • ceramic tiles
   • floor tiles
   • roof tiles
   • a tile

   The bathroom floor is covered in blue and white tiles.

   We need to replace a few broken roof tiles after the storm.

   She chose plain white tiles for the kitchen walls.

2. 2nounplural

   small flat pieces used in board games, often with letters, numbers, or pictures on them.

   Grammar: Often used in games like Scrabble, mahjong, or dominoes; the singular is tile.

   Patterns

   • letter tiles
   • game tiles
   • draw a tile

   He arranged his letter tiles to spell a long word.

   The game comes with 100 wooden tiles.

   She picked up a tile and placed it on the board.

3. 3nounplural

   flat pieces of material used to cover surfaces, such as cork or vinyl squares.

   Grammar: Often used for craft or building materials; singular tile.

   Patterns

   • cork tiles
   • ceiling tiles
   • acoustic tiles

   The ceiling tiles help reduce noise in the office.

   We put cork tiles on the floor for a softer surface.

   These acoustic tiles absorb sound in the studio.

Word forms

Common combinations

ceramic tiles

The kitchen backsplash is made of ceramic tiles.

floor tiles

The floor tiles are easy to clean.

roof tiles

Strong winds blew off several roof tiles.

tile a floor

They hired someone to tile the bathroom floor.

tiles on the wall

There are decorative tiles on the wall behind the stove.

Synonyms and how they differ

slab

A thick, flat piece of stone or concrete, usually larger and rougher than a tile.

brick

A rectangular block used for building walls, not for covering surfaces like a tile.

panel

A flat piece that forms part of a surface, often larger and not necessarily square.

Word family

tile noun

One flat piece used for covering surfaces.

tile verb

To cover a surface with tiles.

tiling noun

The work or pattern of covering a surface with tiles.

tiler noun

A person whose job is to put tiles on floors or walls.

Commonly confused: tiles or tile?

Practice

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