Wikipedia

Noun

Singular tile

Plural tiles

tile (plural tiles)

1. A regularly-shaped slab of clay or other material, affixed to cover or decorate a surface, as in a roof-tile, stove tile, etc.
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 rectangular playing piece used in certain games, such as in Scrabble, mahjong, or Rummikub.

Derived terms

• out on the tiles
• tilework

Related terms

• tiler

A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, and walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops. Alternatively, tile can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as perlite, wood, and mineral wool, typically used for wall and ceiling applications. Less precisely, the modern term can refer to any sort of construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games (see tile-based game). The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn, from the Latin word tegula, meaning a roof tile composed of baked clay.

Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex mosaics. Tiles are most often made from ceramic, with a hard glaze finish, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, marble, granite, slate, and reformed ceramic slurry, which is cast in a muld and fired.