noodle

¹ American  

[nood-l] / ˈnud 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.

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noodle ² American  

[nood-l] / ˈnud l /

noun

1. Slang.

   1. the head.

   2. the mind.

2. a fool or simpleton.

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noodle ³ American  

[nood-l] / ˈnud 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.

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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 American  

[nood-l] / ˈnud 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.

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noodle ¹ British  

/ ˈnuːdəl /

noun

1. a slang word for head

2. a simpleton

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noodle ² British  

/ ˈnuːdəl /

noun

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

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noodle ³ British  

/ ˈnuːdəl /

verb

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

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Other Word Forms

• noodler
  noun
• noodling
  noun

Etymology

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

Explanation

A noodle is a piece of pasta, especially a long, skinny one. You can eat noodles with butter and cheese or sauce, or slurp them from a bowl of soup. Noodles are cut or rolled from a dough that contains some kind of flour — wheat, buckwheat, and rice flour are all commonly used. In Thai food, you'll find wide and thin rice noodles, while Italian food contains many varieties of noodles made from semolina flour, like spaghetti and lasagna. Informally, you can call your head a noodle too. Both meanings have uncertain origins; all we know for sure is that noodle comes from the German Nudel.

Example Sentences

On stage, there is a camaraderie between the musicians, who interact playfully with their frontman, twirling him around the stage, or parting ways to let him noodle around on a vintage synthesiser.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

They recommend making a simple chicken salad, which can be enjoyed on its own or in a sandwich, along with fajitas, pot pie, buffalo chicken dip, empanadas and chicken noodle soup.

From Salon • May 30, 2026

Amid a surge in demand for convenient protein, a Los Angeles-based frozen noodle brand is gaining traction.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

As we speak, he gamely spoons chicken noodle soup into his mouth with a plastic spoon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

He takes a bite of his chow mein and adds, mouth full and noodle hanging out one side, “Both geographically and metaphysically, you know?”

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

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