noodling

American  

[nood-ling] / ˈnud lɪŋ /

verb

1. present participle of noodle.

   I learned the hard way why noodling for catfish is considered dangerous.

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noun

1. the act of catching fish, especially catfish, with only one’s bare hands.

   Some states have banned noodling, citing the dangers of the activity as well as concern over sustainability of the fish populations.

noodling British  

/ ˈnuːdlɪŋ /

noun

1. slang aimless musical improvisation

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Etymology

Origin of noodling

First recorded in 1935–40; noodl(e) ⁴ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

As the technology becomes so cheap that anyone can use it, we may become deluged by a wave of low-quality noodling.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

Purportedly about a dismal romantic engagement with John Mayer, it is produced in the style of Mayer, dressed liberally with blues guitar noodling.

From New York Times • Jul. 4, 2023

By age 3 he was noodling on piano keys and singing at services, with churchgoers sometimes hoisting him on a milk crate so the congregation could see him belting Aretha Franklin songs.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2023

And now he’s doing a lot of noodling about what’s next.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 2, 2023

Kyle could tell they were already noodling out numbers.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein