Join free

noodle

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

noodle¹

  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] UK
  • /ˈnu.dəl/ Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnʉː.dl̩] Australia

Rhymes with -uːdəl

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Dutch noedel (“noodle”), or from its etymon German Nudel (“piece of pasta, noodle”); further etymology uncertain, probably a variant of Knödel (“dumpling”), from Middle High German knödel (“dumpling; small knot”), and then either:

* from knode, knote (“knot”) (from Old High German knodo, knoto (“knot”), perhaps ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *knappō (“knob; boy”)) + -el (diminutive suffix); or

* from Ladin menùdli (“small dough dumpling in soup”), probably from Latin minutulus (“very small, tiny”) (in the sense of food chopped into small pieces), a diminutive of minūtus (“diminished; having been diminished”), the perfect passive participle of minuō (“to make smaller, diminish, lessen, reduce”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“little, small”).

Cognates

* French nouille, noudle, nudeln

* Swedish nudel

noun noodles

  1. plural normally A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by boiling, and served in soup or in a dry form mixed with a sauce and other ingredients. She slurped a long noodle up out of her soup.
  2. broadly An object which is long and thin like a noodle (sense 1).
  3. abbreviation, broadly, ellipsis, informal Ellipsis of pool noodle (“a long, slender tube or rod, extruded from buoyant foam and usually brightly coloured, used as an exercise tool or toy in swimming pools”).
  4. archaic A dumpling cooked by boiling and served in soup; a knaidel or knödel.
  5. slang The penis.
  6. slang A long and slender dragon, usually an eastern dragon.
  7. Internet, endearing, humorous A borzoi dog.

Similar: noodle

noodle²

  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] UK
  • /ˈnu.dəl/ Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnʉː.dl̩] Australia

Rhymes with -uːdəl

Where it comes from

The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is possibly a variant of noddle (“the head”). The verb is derived from the noun.

noun noodles

  1. dated, informal A person with poor judgment; a fool. Laura told me the names of all the actors and actreſſes as they preſented themſelves; and, not contented vvith this, the ſatyrical baggage deſcrib'd their characters nicely, as they appeared. "This here (ſaid ſhe) is a noodle—That fellovv is a brute:[…]."
  2. informal, slang The brain; the head. [W]hat appears to at first glance to be a thinking problem can be a problem with sight or hearing. […] There's nothing wrong with your noodle; it's your sensory equipment that needs a bit of help. Learn to compensate.

Similar: noodle

verb noodles · noodling · noodled

  1. informal, obsolete, transitive To fool or trick (someone).

    Similar: dupe

  2. UK, dialectal, informal, intransitive To engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time.

noodle³

  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] UK
  • /ˈnu.dəl/ Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnʉː.dl̩] Australia

Rhymes with -uːdəl

Where it comes from

Possibly either:

* a blend of Shetland Scots nune (“to sing softly, croon, hum”) (from Danish nynne, Norwegian nuna, nynna (“to hum; to sing”), originally imitative) + English doodle (“to play the bagpipes”) (chiefly Scotland); or

* from Norn (unattested), from Old Norse *grynta, from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną (“to grunt”), a frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną (“to grunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun- (“to shout”) (and thus a doublet of grunt).

verb noodles · noodling · noodled

  1. Shetland, ambitransitive, informal To hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume.

noodle⁴

  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] UK
  • /ˈnu.dəl/ Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnʉː.dl̩] Australia

Rhymes with -uːdəl

Where it comes from

The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly derived:

* from noodle (“to hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume”) (Shetland) (see etymology 3); or

* from German nudeln (“to make music or sing listlessly; to make music or sing at a low pitch or volume, or in an improvisatory manner”) (Leipzig), apparently from Nudel (“piece of pasta, noodle”) (see etymology 1) + -n (a variant of -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs)).

The word was probably also influenced by doodle (“to draw or scribble aimlessly”, verb).

The noun is probably derived from the verb, though the verb is first attested later. The noun was probably also influenced by doodle (“small mindless sketch”, noun).

verb noodles · noodling · noodled

  1. informal, transitive To play (a musical instrument or passage of music) or to sing (a passage of music) in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner; also, to play (a series of ornamental notes) on an instrument.
  2. US, informal, transitive To ponder or think about (something). “Noodle that thought around for a while,” said Dr. Johnson to his Biblical Interpretations class.

    Similar: mull over

  3. informal, intransitive To play a musical instrument or to sing in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner; also, to play a series of ornamental notes on an instrument. He has been noodling with that trumpet all afternoon, and every bit of it sounds awful.
  4. US, informal, intransitive To ponder or think, especially in an unproductive or unsystematic manner; to muse. He noodled over the problem for a day or two before making a decision.
  5. US, informal, intransitive To attempt in an informal or uncertain manner; to fiddle. If the machine is really broken, noodling with the knobs is not going to fix it.
  6. US, informal, intransitive Often followed by about or around: to mess around, to play.

noun noodles

  1. informal An improvised passage of music played on an instrument; also, a series of ornamental notes played on an instrument; a trill.

Similar: noodle

noodle⁵

  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] UK
  • /ˈnu.dəl/ Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnʉː.dl̩] Australia

Rhymes with -uːdəl

Where it comes from

Uncertain; possibly:

* from noodle (“to fool or trick (someone)”) (obsolete) (see etymology 2); or

* from nodule (“rounded mass or irregular shape”).

verb noodles · noodling · noodled

  1. Australia, informal, transitive To search (mullock (“mining or ore processing waste”)) for opals.
  2. Australia, informal, transitive To obtain (an opal) by searching through mullock.
  3. Australia, also, figuratively, informal, transitive To clear extraneous material from (an opal).
  4. Australia, informal, intransitive To search mullock for opals; to fossick. On the Olympic Field the tour-group is permitted to ‘noodle’ (hunt for opals) on the waste or mullock heaps […]

noodle⁶

  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] UK
  • /ˈnu.dəl/ Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnuː.dl̩] Canada, US, Scotland
  • [ˈnʉː.dl̩] Australia

Rhymes with -uːdəl

Where it comes from

Unknown; perhaps related to guddle (“to catch (fish) with the hands”).

verb noodles · noodling · noodled

  1. Australia, informal, transitive To catch (fish (usually very large catfish), turtles, or other aquatic animals) with the hands; also, to catch (fish) using a gaff or fishing spear; to gaff. Fred had several lacerations on his hands from noodling flathead in the river.

    Similar: guddle, catfist

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: bean, noggin, attic, pasta, casserole, tomato, vegetable, walnut, pulp, cap, beanie, hat, bonnet, pecker, head, dome

noun

Similar: noodle

noun

Similar: noodle

noun

Similar: noodle

Translations

Every language

noun string or flat strip of pasta or other dough

Españolfideo, tallarín, aletría
한국어국수 guksu, 누들 nudeul, 면 myeon
日本語ヌードル nūdoru, 麺 men, 麺類 menrui
中文掛麵 /挂面 guàmiàn, 麵條 /面条 miàntiáo
हिन्दीनूडल nūḍal, नूडल्स nūḍals
Portuguêsmiojo, talharim
Françaisnouille
DeutschNudel
Italianofettuccina, taglierino, tagliatella, tagliolino, nudolino, noodle
Ελληνικάνουντλ nountl
Românătăiței
Русскийлапша́ lapšá, макаро́ны makaróny
Tiếng Việtbánh, bún, mì (egg noodle), mì dẹt, miến, mì mống
العربيةنُودَلْز nūdalz, شَعْرِيَّة šaʕriyya
עבריתאִטְרִיָּה 'itriyá

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"noodle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/noodle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

noodle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/noodle

Chicago

"noodle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/noodle.

BibTeX
@misc{noodle_2026,
  title = {noodle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/noodle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}