noddle

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableinformalold-fashionedBritishhumorous

   A person's head, or their brain and ability to think; an old humorous word.

   Grammar: Countable and usually singular; it appears in set phrases like 'use your noddle' rather than in ordinary description.

   Patterns

   • use your noddle
   • have a good noddle

   Come on, use your noddle and work out the answer.

   He tapped his noddle and grinned at the class.

2. 2nouncountableinformalold-fashionedBritishdisapproving

   A stupid or foolish person; an insulting use of the word.

   Grammar: Countable; used as a mild insult, so it is rare in polite writing.

   Patterns

   • a silly noddle
   • call someone a noddle

   Don't be a noddle — read the question again.

   The old comic called his sidekick a noddle in every scene.

Word forms

Common combinations

use your noddle

Use your noddle and count the change before you leave.

a good noddle

She has a good noddle for puzzles.

tap your noddle

He tapped his noddle to show he was thinking.

a silly noddle

Only a silly noddle would believe that story.

Synonyms and how they differ

head

The neutral everyday word; use 'head' in normal speech and save 'noddle' for a joke.

brain

Focuses on thinking ability rather than the body part, and is not old-fashioned.

noggin

Another informal word for the head, more common in modern American English than 'noddle'.

Commonly confused: noddle or noodle? noddle or nod?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “noddle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words