noodle

1
[ nood-l ]
See synonyms for: noodlenoodles on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a narrow strip of unleavened egg dough that has been rolled thin and dried, boiled, and served alone or in soups, casseroles, etc.; a ribbon-shaped pasta.

Origin of noodle

1
First recorded in 1770–80; from German Nudel

Words Nearby noodle

Other definitions for noodle (2 of 4)

noodle2
[ nood-l ]

noun
  1. Slang.

    • the head.

    • the mind.

  2. a fool or simpleton.

Origin of noodle

2
First recorded in 1745–55; perhaps variant of noddle (with oo from fool1)

Other definitions for noodle (3 of 4)

noodle3
[ nood-l ]

verb (used without object),noo·dled, noo·dling.
  1. to improvise a musical passage in a casual manner, especially as a warm-up exercise.

  2. Informal.

    • to play; toy: to noodle with numbers as a hobby.

    • to improvise, experiment, or think creatively: The writers noodled for a week and came up with a better idea for the ad campaign.

verb (used with object),noo·dled, noo·dling.
  1. Informal.

    • to manipulate or tamper with: She denied that she had noodled the statistics to get a favorable result.

    • to make or devise freely as an exercise or experiment (sometimes followed by up): The architects noodled up a model of a solar house.

Verb Phrases
  1. noodle around, Informal. to play, experiment, or improvise.

Origin of noodle

3
An Americanism dating back to 1935–40; origin uncertain

Other definitions for noodle (4 of 4)

noodle4
[ nood-l ]

verb (used with or without object),noo·dled, noo·dling.Chiefly Midland U.S.
  1. to catch fish, especially catfish, with only one’s bare hands: We watched him noodle a 62-pound flathead catfish.Their video on how to noodle for some pretty monstrous catfish includes footage from several rivers in Oklahoma.

Origin of noodle

4
First recorded in 1920–25; origin unknown

Other words from noodle

  • noo·dler, noun
  • noo·dling, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use noodle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for noodle (1 of 3)

noodle1

/ (ˈnuːdəl) /


noun
  1. (often plural) a ribbon-like strip of pasta: noodles are often served in soup or with a sauce

Origin of noodle

1
C18: from German Nudel, origin obscure

British Dictionary definitions for noodle (2 of 3)

noodle2

/ (ˈnuːdəl) /


noun
  1. US and Canadian a slang word for head (def. 1)

  2. a simpleton

Origin of noodle

2
C18: perhaps a blend of noddle 1 and noodle 1

British Dictionary definitions for noodle (3 of 3)

noodle3

/ (ˈnuːdəl) /


verb
  1. (intr) slang to improvise aimlessly on a musical instrument

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012