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)

noodled, noodling 

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)

noodled, noodling 

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 byup ).

      The architects noodled up a model of a solar house.

verb phrase

1. noodle around,  to play, experiment, or improvise.

noodle

⁴

[nood-l]

verb (used with or without object)

Chiefly Midland U.S.

noodled, noodling 

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. a slang word for head

2. a simpleton

noodle

²

/ ˈnuːdəl /

noun

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

noodle

³

/ ˈnuːdəl /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• noodler noun
• noodling 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: perhaps a blend of _noddle ¹ and _noodle ¹

Origin of noodle²

C18: from German Nudel, origin obscure

Example Sentences

In despair, Veronika resumed practicing, though by now her legs were like noodles.

Read more on Literature

I took a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, like the ones in his paintings, and he signed it for me.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

By now, you’ve probably worked up an appetite and the noodles at Wadaya are hearty enough to satisfy the stomachs of teen boys.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The menu is extensive, with cold and hot appetizers, stews, rice and noodles, and of course, meat grilled expertly at the table as you watch.

Read more on Salon

I always get the crab fried rice, the whole cripsy fish, the cup of ramen noodles with the short rib on top and spring rolls.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• coconut