macaroni

noun

mac·​a·​ro·​ni ˌma-kə-ˈrō-nē 

1

: pasta made from semolina and shaped in the form of slender tubes

2

plural macaronis or macaronies [Macaroni Club, a group of such Englishmen]

a

: a member of a class of traveled young Englishmen of the late 18th and early 19th centuries who affected foreign ways

b

: an affected young man : fop

3

: macaroni penguin

Did you know?

As you may have suspected, the macaroni in the song "Yankee Doodle" is not the familiar food. The feather in Yankee Doodle's cap apparently makes him a macaroni in the now rare "fop" or "dandy" sense. The sense appears to have originated with a club established in London by a group of young, well-traveled Englishmen in the 1760s. The founders prided themselves on their appearance, sense of style, and manners, and they chose the name Macaroni Club to indicate their worldliness. Because macaroni was, at the time, a new and rather exotic food in England, the name was meant to demonstrate how stylish the club's members were. The members were themselves called macaronis, and eventually macaroni became synonymous with dandy and fop.

Synonyms

• beau
• Beau Brummell
• buck
• dandy
• dude
• fop
• gallant
• jay
• lounge lizard
• pretty boy

Examples of macaroni in a Sentence

the glitter rock of the 1970s seemed more about mascaraed macaronis than about music

Recent Examples on the Web

The macaroni is tender and well sauced, and there’s plenty of meat to please hearty eaters. —Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 15 June 2025

Across extremely varied and challenging environments, the intricate stories of penguin species—such as rockhoppers, gentoos, macaronis and Magellanic—are unveiled. —Laura Manske, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025

All dinners will include french fries or macaroni & cheese, cole slaw, three bean salad, beets, bread and butter and condiments. —Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025

Even macaroni salad won’t survive the freezer unscathed. —Caroline Tien, SELF, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from regional Italian, plural of macarone (Tuscan maccherone) "tubular pasta," earlier also "stuffed pasta of various shapes," probably borrowed from Middle Greek makarṓneia "funeral hymn," later with the presumed meaning "food served at a funeral banquet" (whence Modern Greek dialect makarōniá in this sense), of uncertain origin

Note: Though the Greek origin of Italian macaroni appears likely, many details are unclear. It has been speculated that the word makarṓneia is a blend of makários "blessed" and aiṓnios "eternal" (words perhaps coupled in funeral orations and memorial services), though this etymology is quite tenuous. The development of the food sense is also difficult to explain—perhaps it has developed through association with Greek makaría "dish of broth and barley groats," an apparently ancient word of uncertain origin attested only in the work of the Greek lexicographer Hesychius (5th-6th century a.d.).

First Known Use

1673, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing macaroni

• macaroni and cheese
• macaroni cheese
• macaroni penguin

Rhymes for macaroni

• abalone
• acrimony
• alimony
• antimony
• ceremony
• chalcedony
• cicerone
• cosmogony
• eurozone
• lithopone
• matrimony
• naloxone

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Why Did Yankee Doodle Call a Feather 'Macaroni'?

What's with his feathered cap?

Kids Definition

macaroni

noun

mac·​a·​ro·​ni ˌmak-ə-ˈrō-nē 

: a food made chiefly of wheat flour paste dried in the form of slender tubes