doodle

¹ American  

[dood-l] / ˈdud l /

verb (used with or without object)

doodled, doodling

1. to draw or scribble idly.

   He doodled during the whole lecture.

2. to waste (time) in aimless or foolish activity.

3. Dialect. to deceive; cheat.

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noun

1. a design, figure, or the like, made by idle scribbling.

2. Archaic. a foolish or silly person.

doodle ² American  

[dood-l] / ˈdud l /

noun

Chiefly North Midland U.S.

1. a small pile of hay; haystack.

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doodle British  

/ ˈduːdəl /

verb

1. to scribble or draw aimlessly

2. to play or improvise idly

3. to dawdle or waste time

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noun

1. a shape, picture, etc, drawn aimlessly

Other Word Forms

• doodler noun

Etymology

Origin of doodle¹

1625–30 in archaic sense “a fool”; 1935–40 in current senses; compare Low German dudeltopf simpleton

Origin of doodle²

Probably extracted from cock-a-doodle-doo ( def. ); a euphemism for cock ³, to avoid association with cock ¹, in sense “penis”

Example Sentences

At the bottom, one added a postscript—“Peut-être y a t’il autre chose en NZ”—along with a doodle, which has been endlessly parsed in the decades since.

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025

Only, oopsie doodle, due to a serious knock on the head, Samantha forgot that she’s actually a CIA-trained black-ops agent.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2024

Cavemen, famously, liked to doodle on the walls with pigments ground from charred wood, stone, bone and minerals, bound with plant sap and animal fat.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2024

There are a lot of different looks for the drawings, partly a result of her loving every doodle I made.

From New York Times • May 16, 2024

“No—for the opportunity, crazy. Which reminds me: get to work. And I mean study—not daydream or doodle or write a poem like you usually do.”

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins