tiles

/taɪl/ (bre, ipa) · [tˈaɪlz] /taɪl/ (ame, ipa) · [tˈaɪlz] /ˈtī(-ə)l/ (ame, mw)

tiles — noun

  • tilessingular
  • tilesesplural

1. A flat piece of hard material that people use as a covering for parts of a build

1.名詞B1
釋義

A flat piece of hard material that people use as a covering for parts of a building — for instance, a wall, the floor, or the roof. It is often made of baked clay, concrete, or natural stone.

例句

The roof of the old temple was covered with green ceramic tiles.

ceramic tiles / roof tiles

Darius dropped a heavy stone tile on his foot while working in the garden.

同義詞
  • slab

    thicker and larger than a tile, usually made of stone or concrete, used for paving or countertops

  • flagstone

    a flat piece of stone used for paths and patios outdoors; more specific than tile

文法句型

tile + verb

adjective + tile(s)

用法筆記

When talking about the material in general, 'tile' can be used as an uncountable noun: 'We bought new tile for the bathroom floor.'

常見錯誤

❌I need to buy some tiles for the floor.' (when meaning the material in general, not individual pieces)
✅I need to buy some tile for the floor.
💡'tile' is uncountable when referring to the material as a type or product.

2. A small flat piece of plastic, wood, or other material that has a letter or symb

2.名詞B1
釋義

A small flat piece of plastic, wood, or other material that has a letter or symbol on it. Players pick up and put down these pieces when playing table games like Scrabble or mah-jongg.

例句

Meera drew seven letter tiles from the bag to start her Scrabble turn.

letter tiles + verb: draw

Lan carefully placed a mah-jongg tile on the table and smiled at her good luck.

mah-jongg tile

同義詞
  • piece

    a more general word for any component in a board game

  • token

    usually refers to a round object used to mark a player's position on a board, not a tile

文法句型

[number] + tile(s)

letter tile / mah-jongg tile

常見錯誤

❌I picked a piece from the bag.' (for Scrabble)
✅I picked a tile from the bag.
💡in board games like Scrabble and mah-jongg, these are specifically called 'tiles', not 'pieces'.

tiles — verb