Tile

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aɪl

Old English tiġele

Full definition of tile

Noun

1. A regularly-shaped slab of clay or other material, affixed to cover or decorate a surface, as in a roof-tile, glazed tile, stove tile, etc.
• 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 3, Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.
2. (computing)  A rectangular graphic.
   Each tile within Google Maps consists of 256 × 256 pixels.
   Sprites and tiles that are hidden in the prototype ROM file can be recovered.
3. Any of various types of cuboid playing piece used in certain games, such as in dominoes, Scrabble, or mahjong.
4. (dated)  A stiff hat.

Derived terms

• glazed tile
• out on the tiles
• tilework

Related terms

• tiler

Verb

1. To cover with tiles.
2. (computing) To arrange in a regular pattern, with adjoining edges (applied to tile-like objects, graphics, windows in a computer interface).

Related terms

• tiler

See tiler ("doorkeeper at a Masonic lodge").

Alternative forms

• tyle

Verb

1. To protect from the intrusion of the uninitiated.to tile a Masonic lodgetile the door

Anagrams

• lite