tile vs tuft

tile

verb
  • To cover with tiles. 

  • To seal a lodge against intrusions from unauthorised people. 

  • To protect from the intrusion of the uninitiated. 

  • To arrange in a regular pattern, with adjoining edges (applied to tile-like objects, graphics, windows in a computer interface). 

  • To optimize (a loop in program code) by means of the tiling technique. 

noun
  • Any of various flat cuboid playing pieces used in certain games, such as dominoes, Scrabble, or mahjong. 

  • A regularly-shaped slab of clay or other material, affixed to cover or decorate a surface, as in a roof-tile, glazed tile, stove tile, carpet tile, etc. 

  • A rectangular graphic. 

tuft

verb
  • To provide or decorate with a tuft or tufts. 

  • To form into tufts. 

  • To secure and strengthen (a mattress, quilt, etc.) with tufts. This hinders the stuffing from moving. 

  • To be formed into tufts. 

noun
  • A bunch of feathers, grass or hair, etc., held together at the base. 

  • A small clump of trees or bushes. 

  • A gold tassel on the cap worn by titled undergraduates at English universities. 

  • A person entitled to wear such a tassel. 

  • A cluster of threads drawn tightly through upholstery, a mattress or a quilt, etc., to secure and strengthen the padding. 

How often have the words tile and tuft occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )