tile
/ˈtaɪ.əl/noun, verb
tile is spelled T-I-L-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tile means “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, carpet tile…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tile is tiles or %tiles.
How many letters and syllables are in tile?
| Letters | 4: T-I-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.2 times per million words; the 10,843rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tile?
Tile appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tile?
- UK /taɪl/
- US /ˈtaɪ.əl/
Tile has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tile.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tile?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tile from its last stressed vowel (/aɪəl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lite, teil, tiel.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tile
- tiles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- tiling participle, present
- tiled participle, past
- tyle
- %tiles plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tile mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
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, carpet tile, etc.
- 2
A rectangular graphic.
Each tile within the map consists of 256 × 256 pixels.
- 3
Any of various flat cuboid playing pieces used in certain games, such as dominoes, Scrabble, or mahjong.
- 4
datedinformalA stiff hat.
- 5
A Lego piece that is 1/3 the height of a brick, and is smooth without studs on top.
verb
- 1
To cover with tiles.
The handyman tiled the kitchen.
- 2
To arrange in a regular pattern, with adjoining edges (applied to tile-like objects, graphics, windows in a computer interface).
- 3
To optimize (a loop in program code) by means of the tiling technique.
- 4
To seal a lodge against intrusions from unauthorised people.
- 5
To protect from the intrusion of the uninitiated.
to tile a Masonic lodge
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tile in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | carreau (de carrelage), tuile , tuiler |
| German | Kachel, Fliese, Dachziegel , fliesen, kacheln, decken |
| Portuguese | azulejo, ladrilho, telha , azulejar, ladrilhar, telhar |
| Spanish | azulejo, alicatado, baldosa, teja, loseta, baldosín |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tile come from?
From Middle English tile, tyl, tigel, tiȝel, teȝele, from Old English tiġele, tieġle, tiġle (“tile, brick”), from Proto-West Germanic *tigulā (“tile, brick”), from Proto-Germanic *tigulǭ (“tile, brick”), from Latin tēgula, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover”). Doublet of tegula.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).