spaghetti

noun

spa·​ghet·​ti spə-ˈge-tē How to pronounce spaghetti (audio)
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 adjective

Examples of spaghetti in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Atlantic storm spaghetti models Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2024 And, no, Canha smiled, the cuisine of choice was not Cincinnati’s famous spaghetti noodles topped with chili. Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024 Have something fun, like spaghetti pie, for dinner. Jennifer Wolf, Parents, 30 July 2024 For example, the Filipino aisle featured Mang Tomas sauce, different Filipino vinegars and even spaghetti sauce. Reia Li, The Arizona Republic, 23 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for spaghetti 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spaghetti.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of spaghetti was in 1874

Dictionary Entries Near spaghetti

Cite this Entry

“Spaghetti.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spaghetti. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

Kids Definition

spaghetti

noun
spa·​ghet·​ti spə-ˈget-ē How to pronounce spaghetti (audio)
: 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.

More from Merriam-Webster on spaghetti

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