tile

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tile /tʌɪl/

▶noun

• 1 a thin square or rectangular slab of baked clay, concrete, etc., used in overlapping rows for covering roofs.

  ■ a similar slab of glazed pottery or other material for covering floors or walls.

• 2 a thin, flat piece used in Scrabble, mah-jong, and other games.

▶verb

• 1 cover with tiles.

• 2 arrange (windows) on a computer screen so that they do not overlap.

– phrases
on the tiles informal, chiefly Brit. having a lively night out.

– origin OE tigele, from L. tegula, from an Indo-Eur. root meaning ‘cover’.