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

Tropical Storm Lorena spaghetti models Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. —Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

Most of the long-range computer models, also known as spaghetti models, show the system moving due west and approaching the eastern Caribbean islands by mid-next week. —Alex Harris updated September 4, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025

In the first menu, customers can find spaghetti with mantis shrimp, salted lemon, sea grapes and monkfish paired with bagna càuda and green asparagus. —Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025

The vegetables and the whole-wheat spaghetti used at the bottom of the bowl offer lots of benefits. —Bethany Thayer, Freep.com, 31 Aug. 2025

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.