noun
shingle
SHIHNG-guhl
noun
1
A thin, often overlapping piece of roofing or wall covering material.
"Several shingles blew off the roof in the storm."
2
A small signboard, especially one advertising a professional office.
"The lawyer hung out her shingle after opening her own practice."
3
Small, smooth pebbles found on a beach, or a beach covered in them.
"They walked carefully over the shingle toward the sea."
verb
1
To cover a roof or wall with shingles.
"The roofers shingled the whole house in a single day."
How to Use Shingle
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA small overlapping roof tile, or (unrelated sense) loose smooth beach pebbles.
Common pairings
wood shingles
hang out a shingle
a shingle beach
Word Forms
shingled past tense, shingled past tense, shingles plural, shingles plural, shingles plural, shingles singular, shingles singular
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Etymology
From Old English sċindel, ultimately from Latin scandula, related to a root meaning "to split" — early shingles were split from wood.