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
spə-ˈge-tē-ˌlīk How to pronounce spaghetti (audio)
adjective

Examples of spaghetti in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Kotb shared strands of spaghetti Lady and the Tramp-style with each of her daughters in an Instagram post from August 2021. — Diane J. Cho, PEOPLE, 9 Aug. 2026 Entrées include a wide array of options, from a red wine pot roast or spaghetti and meatballs to chicken fingers or short rib mac and cheese. — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Aug. 2026 Firehouse meals may conjure images of red-sauced spaghetti, but the pasta at Ladder 13 is a bit more upscale. — Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 4 Aug. 2026 It can be sliced or spiralized to look like spaghetti or linguini. — Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, Health, 30 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for spaghetti

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

Phrases Containing spaghetti

Rhymes for spaghetti

See All Rhymes for spaghetti

Browse Nearby Words

spaewife
spaghetti
spaghettini
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spaghetti.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spaghetti. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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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

Nglish: Translation of spaghetti for Spanish Speakers

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