noodle

¹

[ nood-l ]

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.

noodle

²

[ nood-l ]

noun

1. Slang.
   1. the head.
   2. the mind.
2. a fool or simpleton.

noodle

³

[ 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.
   1. to play; toy:

      to noodle with numbers as a hobby.

   2. 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.
   1. to manipulate or tamper with:

      She denied that she had noodled the statistics to get a favorable result.

   2. 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 phrase

1. Informal. to play, experiment, or improvise.

noodle

⁴

[ nood-l ]

verb (used with or without object)

, Chiefly Midland U.S.

, noo·dled, noo·dling.

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.

noodle

¹

/ ˈnuːdəl /

noun

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

noodle

²

/ ˈnuːdəl /

noun

1. a slang word for head
2. a simpleton

noodle

³

/ ˈnuːdəl /

verb

1. slang.
   intr to improvise aimlessly on a musical instrument

Other Words From

• noo·dler noun
• noo·dling noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of noodle¹

First recorded in 1770–80; from German Nudel

Origin of noodle²

First recorded in 1745–55; perhaps variant of noddle (with oo from fool ¹ )

Origin of noodle³

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40; origin uncertain

Origin of noodle⁴

First recorded in 1920–25; origin unknown

Word History and Origins

Origin of noodle¹

C18: from German Nudel, origin obscure

Origin of noodle²

C18: perhaps a blend of noddle ¹and noodle ¹

Example Sentences

He tended a vegetable garden, took care of about 20 chickens and has been the family chef, she said, making amazing Vietnamese-style garlic noodles, smoked meats and deep-fried crab.

From Los Angeles Times

Steam rises from snack stands selling noodles and sizzled octopus on sticks on the Chinese side.

From BBC

By the end of July, that figure dropped to $1 to $1.30 as many diners stopped ordering their noodles with pork in favor of egg or vegetables.

From Los Angeles Times

While millions of people in Florida fled Hurricane Milton, Mike Smalls Jr ventured into the violent winds in Tampa, Florida, holding a blow-up mattress, an umbrella and a pack of ramen noodles.

From BBC

For carbohydrates, consider rice, pasta, instant noodles and crackers.

From Salon

Related Words

• coconut