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

Main courses include cannelloni filled with classic Peruvian chicken stew, seared sea scallops over walnut sauce spaghetti or pork chops served with Peruvian potato stew. —Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 25 Feb. 2025

That was likely influenced by the famous spaghetti meal scene in John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence. —Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2025

The annual spaghetti supper will be held Tuesday, March 12 at the United Methodist Church on Varner Street. —Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025

While the German shepherd is politely holding back, his opponent can't wait to tuck in, to the point that his owner has to physically stop him from grabbing the unseasoned spaghetti before the contest even started. —Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 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.