macaroni
/ˌmæk.əˈɹoʊ.ni/noun, adjective
macaroni is spelled M-A-C-A-R-O-N-I: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, macaroni means “A type of pasta in the form of short tubes, typically boiled and served in soup, with a sauce, or in melted cheese; a dish of this” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of macaroni is macaronis or macaronies.
How many letters and syllables are in macaroni?
| Letters | 8: M-A-C-A-R-O-N-I |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,070th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is macaroni?
Macaroni appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce macaroni?
- UK /mæk.əˈɹəʊ.ni/
- US /ˌmæk.əˈɹoʊ.ni/
As a noun (“A macaroon”): /mak.əˈɹəʊ.ni/, /ˌmækəˈɹoʊni/.
Macaroni has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-macaroni.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with macaroni
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with macaroni?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as macaroni from its last stressed vowel (/oʊni/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: marocain, armonica.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of macaroni
- macaronis plural
- macaronies plural
- maccaroni
- more macaroni comparative
- most macaroni superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does macaroni mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A type of pasta in the form of short tubes, typically boiled and served in soup, with a sauce, or in melted cheese; a dish of this.
Take half a pound of small pipe-macaroni.
- 2
informalobsoletePasta, particularly thicker noodles, spaghetti.
MACARONI... is a preparation of wheat originally peculiar to Italy, in which country it is an article of food of national importance. The same substance in different forms is also known as vermicelli, pasta or Italian pastes, taglioni, fant
- 3
obsoleteSynonym of gnocchi (“Italian dumpling made of potato or semolina”).
- 4
derogatoryA dandy or fop, particularly in the 18th century a young Englishman who had travelled in Europe and subsequently dressed and spoke in an ostentatiously affected Continental manner.
... the Maccaroni Club (which is composed of all the travelled young men who wear long curls and spying-glasses) ...
- 5
A 19th-century quarter-silver dollar coin, typically a full 2-real coin or a quarter clipping of an 8-real coin from Central or South America.
- 6
Ellipsis of macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus).
- 7
Synonym of Italian (“a person from Italy or of Italian ethnicity”).
Surely I shall always be able, go where I will, among frogs or maccaronis, to procure sucre noir, or inchiostro nero.
- 8
obsoleteEllipsis of macaroni tool.
- 9
obsoleteA macaroon.
adjective
- 1
Chic, fashionable, stylish; in the manner of a macaroni.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate macaroni?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of macaroni: mac.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Macaroni in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense type of pasta:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | macaronis |
| German | Makkaroni |
| Portuguese | macarrão |
| Spanish | macarrones, macarrón, codito |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does macaroni come from?
From Italian maccaroni (plural of maccarone (archaic variant of maccheroni (“fool”))), of uncertain origin. Variously derived from late Byzantine Greek μακαρία (makaría, “food made from barley”), from Ancient Greek μάκαρ (mákar, “blessed; favored by the gods”), or from maccare (archaic variant of ammaccare (“to bruise; to crush”)), from Latin maccāre of the same meaning. Compare Sicilian maccarruni (“a single piece of macaroni”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).