noodle

SayNOO-duhl/ˈnu.dəl/UK/ˈnuː.dəl/[ˈnʉː.dl̩]

23 meanings of noodle

1
nouncountable
A long, thin piece of pasta dough, usually boiled and eaten in soup or with sauce.
We had a big bowl of noodles for lunch.
Each noodle in the soup was soft and slippery.
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2
nounslangcountable
A person's head, or the brain inside it.
Use your noodle and figure out the puzzle.
He scratched his noodle, trying to remember the name.
Similarhead, brain, noggin, bean
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3
nouncolloquialabbreviationellipsis
Short for pool noodle. It's the long foam tube kids use to float and play in a pool.
She grabbed a foam noodle and floated across the deep end.
The kids whacked each other with noodles in the shallow water.
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4
verbcolloquialUSintransitive
To think about something in a slow, loose, unplanned way.
Like letting your mind wander around an idea instead of trying to solve it.
I like to noodle on big questions while walking the dog.
She sat by the window and noodled about her future.
Similarmuse, ponder, mull, puzzle
5
verbcolloquialUStransitive
To think a problem or idea over in your mind.
Let me noodle the idea for a day before I decide.
She noodled the plan a while and then said yes.
Similarponder, mull, consider, weigh, contemplate
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6
nouncountable
A long, thin object shaped like a piece of pasta.
The clay stretched into a long noodle in her hands.
He bent the soft foam tube into a floppy noodle.
Similarstrand, string
7
verbcolloquialintransitive
To play music or sing in a free, playful way, making up notes as you go.
Like making up little tunes for fun, without following any plan.
He likes to noodle on his guitar after dinner.
She noodled on the piano while we waited.
Similarimprovise, riff, jam
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8
verbcolloquialtransitive
To play a tune, riff, or instrument in a free, made-up way, just for fun.
She noodled a few bars of an old song on the keys.
Let me noodle this riff until it feels right.
Similarimprovise, riff
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9
nouncolloquialcountable
A short, made-up bit of music played on an instrument, often with fancy extra notes.
He added a quick noodle at the end of the verse.
Her solo was full of playful noodles.
Similarriff, lick, run, flourish
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10
verbcolloquialUSintransitive
To mess around or play, without any serious goal.
The kids noodled around in the backyard all afternoon.
We can noodle about for a bit before dinner.
Similarputter, potter, mess, loaf

11
nounslangcountable
A funny slang word for the penis.
He grabbed a towel to cover his noodle after the shower.
The little boy giggled and pointed at his noodle in the bath.
Similarwilly
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12
verbcolloquialUSintransitive
To try something in a loose, unsure way, fiddling with it.
He noodled with the lock until it finally opened.
Let me noodle with this setting and see what happens.
Similarfiddle, tinker, experiment, play
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13
noundatedcountable
A silly or foolish person who often makes poor choices.
Like someone who puts their shoes on the wrong feet.
Don't be such a noodle. Read the instructions first.
"What are you two noodleth laughing at?" Norrie went on, with a touch of indignation. "Ithn't the thenthe of thent in hith nothe?"
1905, Alfred Colbeck, “Netted: The Story of a Capture”Here, noodleth means noodles, silly or foolish people.
Similarfool, nitwit, dimwit, idiot
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14
verbdialectalBritishintransitive
To waste time by playing around instead of working.
Like playing games when you should be doing homework.
The kids like to noodle around after school.
He spent all afternoon noodling instead of studying.
Similardawdle, dally, idle, loaf
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15
nounslangcountable
A long, thin dragon, like the ones in East Asian stories.
Like a giant snake that flies through the sky.
The parade had a long noodle made of silk and bamboo.
She drew a noodle curling around a glowing pearl.
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16
verbobsoletetransitive
To trick or fool someone.
Like fooling a friend with a made-up story.
The trickster noodled the whole crowd with a clever lie.
Swindlers like to noodle honest folk at the fair.
Similardupe
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17
verbcolloquialAustraliatransitive
To catch fish, especially big catfish, with your bare hands.
Like grabbing a fish with your hands instead of using a net.
He likes to noodle big catfish with his bare hands.
She noodled a huge catfish out of the hollow log.
Similarguddle
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18
verbdialectalShetlandtransitive or intransitive
To hum or sing a tune softly and quietly.
Like humming softly to yourself when no one is near.
He likes to noodle a tune while he works.
She was noodling a quiet song to herself.
Similarhum, croon
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19
verbcolloquialAustraliatransitive
To search through mining waste to find opals.
Like digging through a trash pile to find a lost coin.
Workers noodle the waste piles to find opals.
She noodled the old heap and found a bright stone.
Similarsift, search, comb
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20
verbcolloquialAustraliaintransitive
To look through mining waste, hoping to find opals.
Like searching a beach for shells, hoping to get lucky.
Tourists like to noodle near the old opal mines.
She noodled all afternoon but found nothing.
Similarfossick, prospect, scavenge
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21
verbcolloquialAustraliatransitive
To find an opal by searching through mining waste.
Like finding a coin hidden in a pile of dirt.
He noodled a small opal out of the waste pile.
Sometimes you can noodle a good opal from the leftovers.
Similarfind, unearth
22
verbcolloquialfigurativelyAustraliatransitive
To remove the extra material covering an opal.
Like peeling off a shell to reach the nut inside.
She noodled the opal to clear off the rough crust.
You must noodle the opal carefully so it does not break.
Similarclean
23
nounarchaic
A boiled dumpling that is served in soup.
Like a soft ball of dough that floats in your soup.
Grandma dropped a noodle into each bowl of hot broth.
The soup came with a soft noodle floating in the middle.
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Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1, 3, 6, 11, 15, 23

It came from Dutch noedel or German Nudel, meaning noodle. Its earlier origin is unknown, but it may be a variant of a word for dumpling.

Meanings 2, 13–14, 16

The origin is unclear. It may be a variant of noddle, meaning the head. The verb comes from the noun.

Meaning 18

The origin is unclear. It may be a blend of a Shetland Scots word meaning to hum and English doodle, or from an Old Norse word meaning to grunt.

Meanings 4–5, 7–10, 12

The origin is unclear. It may come from a Shetland word meaning to hum, or from German nudeln, meaning to make music in a listless way. It was probably also influenced by doodle.

Meanings 19–22

The origin is unclear. It may come from an obsolete sense of noodle meaning to trick someone, or from nodule, a rounded mass.

Meaning 17

The origin is unknown. It may be related to guddle, meaning to catch fish with the hands.