Wang tile

noun

A square tile with a colour on each side. Possible sets of such tiles are studied to determine whether they can tile the plane (arranged with like colours touching, and without rotations or reflections) and whether this can be done in a periodic pattern.

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Meanings

nounWang tile (plural Wang tiles)

plural Wang tiles

  1. mathematicsA square tile with a colour on each side. Possible sets of such tiles are studied to determine whether they can tile the plane (arranged with like colours touching, and without rotations or reflections) and whether this can be done in a periodic pattern.

Origin

First proposed by mathematician, logician, and philosopher Hao Wang in 1961.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Wang tile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wang%20tile

MLA

“Wang tile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wang%20tile. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wang tile,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wang%20tile.

Source: Wang tile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.