Meaning & use
noodles
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“noodles” is a form of “noodle”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Thin strips of dough, usually made from wheat or rice flour, boiled and eaten in soups or other dishes.
Grammar: Plural form; the singular is noodle: a bowl of noodles.
Patterns
- a bowl of noodles
- noodles with something
She ordered a bowl of hot noodles for lunch.
The chef pulled the noodles by hand.
We cooked the noodles for three minutes and drained them.
nounpluralinformal
Long, soft foam tubes used as floats in swimming pools, often called pool noodles.
Grammar: Usually appears as 'pool noodles': kids held pool noodles.
Patterns
- pool noodles
The kids floated on pool noodles all afternoon.
He tied two pool noodles together to make a raft.
Word forms
| singular | noodle |
|---|
Common combinations
- instant noodles
- Instant noodles are ready in three minutes.
- rice noodles
- The soup comes with thin rice noodles.
- cook the noodles
- Cook the noodles until they are soft.
- fried noodles
- We shared a plate of fried noodles.
- a bowl of noodles
- He sat down to a bowl of noodles.
- pool noodles
- Pool noodles keep small swimmers afloat.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pasta
- Pasta usually means Italian-style wheat dough in many shapes, while noodles often means long thin strips used in Asian dishes.
- vermicelli
- Vermicelli is a very thin kind of noodle or pasta, so it is narrower than noodles.
- spaghetti
- Spaghetti is one specific long, round pasta, whereas noodles covers many shapes and cultures.
Word family
Commonly confused: noodles or nuddles?
noodles vs nuddles
Nuddles is a misspelling; the correct spelling is noodles, with two o's.
Practice
Which spelling is correct for the long strips of dough eaten in soup?
Choose one answer.
Noodles is spelled with a double o after the n and 'dles' at the end. The other forms are misspellings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “noodles”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.