noddy
nod·dy/ˈnɑdi/noun, adjective
noddy is spelled N-O-D-D-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables (nod·dy). It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 73,203rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, noddy means “In full knave noddy: the jack or knave playing card” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of noddy is noddies.
How many letters and syllables are in noddy?
| Letters | 5: N-O-D-D-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: nod·dy |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 73,203rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 noddy?
Noddy appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 73,203rd 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 noddy?
- UK /ˈnɒdi/
- US /ˈnɑdi/
- US [-ɾi]
Noddy has 2 syllables, split nod·dy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-noddy.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-noddy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with noddy?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as noddy from its last stressed vowel (/ɑdi/):
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 noddy
- noddies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- more noddy comparative
- most noddy superlative
- noddying participle, present
- noddied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does noddy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicA silly or stupid person; a fool, an idiot.
- 2
In full knave noddy: the jack or knave playing card.
- 3
In full noddy-fifteen: a certain card game related to cribbage.
- 4
obsoleteslangSynonym of sexual intercourse.
- 5
Any of several stout-bodied, gregarious terns of the genus Anous found in tropical seas, especially the brown noddy or common noddy (Anous stolidus).
- 6
IrelandScotlandA small two-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse.
- 7
slangSynonym of fellatio.
- 8
USSynonym of northern fulmar (“an Arctic seabird, Fulmarus glacialis”).
- 9
UKinformalA cutaway scene of a television interviewer nodding at the person being interviewed (or sometimes the interviewee nodding at the interviewer), often used to cover an editing gap in an interview.
Noddies are often filmed after the interview in question has finished.
- 10
obsoleteIn clockmaking and watchmaking: an inverted pendulum consisting of a short, vertical, flat spring which supports a rod having a bob at the top, which is used for detecting and measuring slight horizontal vibrations of a body to which it is attached.
- 11
obsoleterareIn at noddy: a state of being asleep.
adjective
- 1
Foolish, silly, stupid.
- 2
archaicDrowsy, sleepy.
verb
- 1
obsoleterareSynonym of noddify (“to make (someone) into a noddy (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1), to make a fool of”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Noddy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense cutaway scene of a television interviewer nodding:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | ademán en corte |
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 noddy come from?
Noun etymology 1 sense 1 is possibly from nod (“to incline the head up and down; to gradually fall asleep”) + -y (suffix forming diminutive nouns or familiar names); or a shortening of noddypoll, an obsolete alteration of hoddypoll (“fumbling, inept person”). The origin of noun etymology 1 sense 2 is uncertain; it is possibly derived from etymology 1 sense 1. Compare muggins (“fool, idiot; card game based on building in suits or matching exposed cards, the object being to get rid of one’s cards”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).