spaghetti
Americannoun
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a white, starchy pasta of Italian origin that is made in the form of long strings, boiled, and served with any of a variety of meat, tomato, or other sauces.
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Electricity. an insulating tubing of small diameter into which bare wire can be slipped.
noun
Usage
See zucchini.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of spaghetti
1885–90; < Italian, plural of spaghetto, diminutive of spago thin rope < Late Latin spacus twine, probably < Greek sphákos long-threaded lichen
Compare meaning
How does spaghetti compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Spaghetti is long, thin pasta. Spaghetti with meatballs in marinara sauce is an Italian restaurant classic. Spaghetti is a popular Italian pasta, often served with a tomato sauce sometimes called spaghetti sauce. The Italian word spago means string, and spaghetti is the plural of spago — a description of what spaghetti looks like. Spaghetti straps are very thin shoulder straps found on dresses and summery tops. In the late 1960s, "spaghetti westerns" were movies about the Wild West, filmed in Italy and directed by Italians.
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.
"At least today they gave us some rice, spaghetti and sardines."
From Barron's • Jul. 8, 2026
His introduction to Cincinnati chili was a “three-way” – spaghetti, chili and a large amount of shredded cheese.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
Then there are all the facets of his campaign that remind us he’s new here, that he’s maybe just throwing spaghetti at the wall.
From Slate • Jun. 18, 2026
Based on her hit 2018 stage play of the same name, Harris’ film is a road movie meeting a spaghetti western, with a dash of “Set It Off” gone Tarantino.
From Salon • May 19, 2026
Holly managed to extricate her fingers a nanosecond before they snapped like brittle spaghetti.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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.
