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spaghetti

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A dish that has spaghetti as a main part of it, such as spaghetti bolognese.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

spuhgehtee

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

spəˈɡɛti

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. by extensioncountableuncountable

    A dish that has spaghetti (noun 1, sense 1) as a main part of it, such as spaghetti bolognese.

  2. Pasta in the form of long strings

  3. countableuncountable

    A type of pasta made in the shape of long thin strings.

  4. by extensionuncountableinformaloften attributively

    Something physically resembling spaghetti (noun 1, sense 1) in appearance or consistency, or in being tangled.

  5. by extensioncountable

    Denoting Italianness.

  6. uncountablefigurativelyinformal

    Something confusing or intricate.

verb

  1. transitive

    To cause (someone or something) to become, or appear to become, longer and thinner; to stretch.

  2. transitive

    To cause (something) to become tangled.

  3. transitivehumorous

    To serve (someone) spaghetti (noun noun 1, sense 1).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Pasta

spaghetti squash

Spaghetti

spaghetti sauce

Other combinations

spaghetti westernsspaghetti codespaghetti strapslike spaghettispaghetti dinnereating spaghetti

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • spaghetti and meatballsnounCompound term

    Spaghetti with meatballs in a tomato sauce.

  • spaghetti junctionnounCompound term

    A complicated highway interchange with multiple overpasses.

  • spaghetti saucenounCompound term

    Any of numerous sauces for spaghetti or other kinds of pasta.

  • spaghetti squashnounCompound term

    Squash plant bearing oval fruit with smooth yellowish skin and tender stranded flesh resembling spaghetti.

  • spaghetti westernnounCompound term

    A low-budget Western movie produced by a European (especially an Italian) film company.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.