noodle

nood·le/ˈnu.dəl/noun, verb

noodle is spelled N-O-O-D-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (nood·le). It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, noodle means “A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by boiling, and served in soup or in a dry form mixed with a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of noodle is noodles.

How many letters and syllables are in noodle?

Letters	6: N-O-O-D-L-E
Syllables	2: nood·le
In writing	2.6 times per million words; the 16,687th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched	none measured in search
Rhymes with	feudal poodle

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 noodle?

Noodle appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form in the list.

noodle0.0010.010.11101001,00010,000

rarerper million words of written Englishmore common

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce noodle?

UK [ˈnuː.dl̩]
US /ˈnu.dəl/
US [ˈnuː.dl̩]

Noodle has 2 syllables, split nood·le in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-noodle.ogg, En-au-noodle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with noodle?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as noodle from its last stressed vowel (/udəl/):

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 noodle

noodles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
noodling participle, present
noodled participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does noodle mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

1
A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by boiling, and served in soup or in a dry form mixed with a sauce and other ingredients.
She slurped a long noodle up out of her soup.
2
An object which is long and thin like a noodle (sense 1).
3
informalEllipsis of pool noodle (“a long, slender tube or rod, extruded from buoyant foam and usually brightly coloured, used as an exercise tool or toy in swimming pools”).
4
archaicA dumpling cooked by boiling and served in soup; a knaidel or knödel.
5
slangThe penis.
6
slangA long and slender dragon, usually an eastern dragon.
7
A borzoi dog.
8
datedinformalA person with poor judgment; a fool.
9
informalslangThe brain; the head.
10
informalAn improvised passage of music played on an instrument; also, a series of ornamental notes played on an instrument; a trill.

verb

1
informalobsoleteTo fool or trick (someone).
2
UKinformalTo engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time.
3
informalTo hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume.
4
informalTo play (a musical instrument or passage of music) or to sing (a passage of music) in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner; also, to play (a series of ornamental notes) on an instrument.
5
USinformalTo ponder or think about (something).
“Noodle that thought around for a while,” said Dr. Johnson to his Biblical Interpretations class.
6
informalTo play a musical instrument or to sing in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner; also, to play a series of ornamental notes on an instrument.
He has been noodling with that trumpet all afternoon, and every bit of it sounds awful.
7
USinformalTo ponder or think, especially in an unproductive or unsystematic manner; to muse.
He noodled over the problem for a day or two before making a decision.
8
USinformalTo attempt in an informal or uncertain manner; to fiddle.
If the machine is really broken, noodling with the knobs is not going to fix it.
9
USinformalOften followed by about or around: to mess around, to play.
10
AustraliainformalTo search (mullock (“mining or ore processing waste”)) for opals.
11
AustraliainformalTo obtain (an opal) by searching through mullock.
12
AustraliainformalTo clear extraneous material from (an opal).
13
AustraliainformalTo search mullock for opals; to fossick.
14
AustraliainformalTo catch (fish (usually very large catfish), turtles, or other aquatic animals) with the hands; also, to catch (fish) using a gaff or fishing spear; to gaff.
Fred had several lacerations on his hands from noodling flathead in the river.