spaghetti

noun

spa·​ghet·​ti spə-ˈge-tē 

1

: pasta made in thin solid strings

2

: insulating tubing typically of varnished cloth or of plastic for covering bare wire or holding insulated wires together

spaghettilike

spə-ˈge-tē-ˌlīk 

adjective

Examples of spaghetti in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All told, the McCauleys stole at least $12 million, getting creative in hiding cash — by stuffing it into jars of spaghetti sauce, for example. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026

Both he and his now ex-wife were arrested, with piles of cash found in a Bagel Bites box in their freezer, down a heat vent, and submerged in spaghetti sauce. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Sep. 2026

Veggie options include a take on the famous spaghetti alla Nerano with courgettes and mint. — Nicky Swallow, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Sep. 2026

The plasma pasta then wraps around the black hole like spaghetti around a fork, but just like eating good pasta can be a messy affair, black holes spill a massive amount of stellar food. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 24 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from plural of spaghetto, diminutive of spago cord, string, from Late Latin spacus

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing spaghetti

• spaghetti squash
• spaghetti strap
• spaghetti western

Rhymes for spaghetti

• confetti
• libretti
• betty
• chetty
• jetty
• petit
• sweaty
• yeti
• spermaceti

Kids Definition

spaghetti

noun

spa·​ghet·​ti spə-ˈget-ē 

: a food made chiefly of a mixture of flour and water dried in the form of thin solid strings

Etymology

from Italian spaghetti "pasta made in long strings," from spaghetti, plural of spaghetto "little string," from spago "string"

Word Origin

The Italian word spago means "cord, string." The suffix -etto in Italian, like the suffix -ette in English, means "little one." Added together, spago and -etto become spaghetto, which means "little string." "Little string" describes very well the shape of a strand of spaghetti. The word spaghetti is actually the plural form of spaghetto.