tiles
Mosaic building blocks
Tiles are flat, thin pieces of hard material—ceramic, stone, or plastic—used to cover surfaces like floors, walls, and roofs.
They're typically arranged in patterns and fitted together: bathroom tiles, roof tiles, subway tiles.
In games, tiles are the playing pieces in Scrabble, mahjong, and dominoes.
To tile is to cover with tiles or, in computing, to arrange windows side by side on a screen.
Chinese matching tile game
- dominoesDot-marked game tiles
- scrabbleClaw or grope frantically
- rackFrame for holding items
- drawCreate with pencil
discard · matching · sequence · set · bamboo · dots · characters · winds
Inlaid pictorial arrangement
- ornamentalFor beauty, not function
- inlayEmbedded surface ornamentation
- motifRecurring thematic element
- arabesqueFlowing ornamental design
pattern · geometric · tesserae · mural · frieze · border · accent · medallion
Tile joint filler
- ceramicFired clay material
- porcelainTranslucent fired clay
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
- slateFissile metamorphic rock
travertine · terrazzo · quarry · limestone · granite · sandstone · laying · spacers
Translucent fired clay
- glazedCoated with shiny finish
- earthenwareLow-temperature fired pottery
- stonewareDense ceramic fired hot
- kilnOven for hardening clay
firing · pottery · clay · terracotta · vitrified · bisque · faience · glaze
mahjong
Chinese matching tile game
draw · discard · matching · sequence · set · bamboo · dots · characters · winds · dragons
mosaic
Inlaid pictorial arrangement
- ornamentalFor beauty, not function
- inlayEmbedded surface ornamentation
- motifRecurring thematic element
arabesque · pattern · geometric · tesserae · mural · frieze · border · accent · medallion · pictorial
grout
Tile joint filler
slate · travertine · terrazzo · quarry · limestone · granite · sandstone · laying · spacers · adhesive
porcelain
Translucent fired clay
- glazedCoated with shiny finish
- earthenwareLow-temperature fired pottery
- stonewareDense ceramic fired hot
kiln · firing · pottery · clay · terracotta · vitrified · bisque · faience · glaze · underglaze
shingles
Overlapping roof cladding
- slateFissile metamorphic rock
- clayMoldable earth for ceramics
- terracottaFired reddish-brown ceramic
concrete · metal · cedar · asphalt · ridge · hip · valley · flashing · underlayment · batten
pixel
Smallest display unit
tileset · procedural · repeating · texture · grid · isometric · platformer · terrain · parallax · scrolling
- word gamescrossword, Scrabble, crossword puzzle, anagram, word game
- arts and craftspottery, collage, woodcarving, origami, weaving
- ceramicspottery, porcelain, cup, bowl, plate
- game mechanicslevels, rules, cooldown, points, health points
- potterypot, pottery, clay pottery, throwing, ceramic vase
- Scrabbleboard, rack, blank, triple word, double word
tilescarpet
Thick floor textile
hardwood · planks · poured concrete · linoleum · vinyl sheet
tilesseamless
Without visible joins
continuous · monolithic · unbroken · sheet · roll
- subway tileRectangular glazed wall ceramic
- tile floorGrouted hard surface covering
- acoustic tilesNoise-absorbing ceiling material
- floor tilesFlat pieces covering floors
- roof tilesOverlapping house-top covering
- tile roofClay-shingled building top
tile, tiled, tiling, tiler, tilers, retiled, retile, retiling, retiles