The word shingle has several distinct meanings in the English language:
- A shingle is a flat covering element for a roof. Shingles are laid in overlapping rows, with half the shingle visible and half covered by the one above or by the roof ridge. Other roof coverings are shakes and tiles.
- The term shingle can refer to an alluvial material of flat, rounded stones typically forming a beach at the seashore. Shingle is a coarse gravel formed by wave erosion of sedimentary rock formations.
- There is also a disease of the nerves known as shingles (always with a final s).
