oodles
Americannoun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of oodles
First recorded in 1865–70; origin uncertain
Explanation
When you have oodles of something, you have a whole lot of it. If you have a big bowl of spaghetti, then you can say that you have "oodles of noodles." Use the informal oodles when you mean "lots," "tons," or "bunches." If you grow up to have oodles of money, you can buy a huge house with oodles of space for the oodles of puppies you plan to adopt. Of course, you also imagine having oodles of dog nannies to take care of the puppies and clean up after them. Oodles is an American English word that first turned up in nineteenth century Texas.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Everyone’s salaries are far higher than they were for the first film, and this sequel cost oodles more to produce.
From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026
“In the midst of the Great Depression, she had oodles of cash,” said Cook.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025
Los Angeles signs oodles of talented players, loses them to injury or ineptitude, and replaces them with new talented players.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
Our modern, digitised world generates oodles of it and this place has access to one heck of a lot of it, plenty of it in real time.
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025
“Bill is a writer but unlike the rest of us, he has oodles of money.”
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
