What does "macaroni" mean?
A type of pasta in the form of short tubes, typically boiled and served in soup, with a sauce, or in melted cheese; a dish of this.
Macaroni
/ˌmækəˈɹoʊni/ adj, noun, slang
adj, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A type of pasta in the form of short tubes, typically boiled and served in soup, with a sauce, or in melted cheese; a dish of this.
- Grammar: macaroni is listed as adj, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: beau, beau brummel, blade, blood.
- Useful contrasts: bread, commoner, philistine.
- Usage evidence: Cover the macaroni fully with water.
How to use "macaroni"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "macaroni" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "macaroni" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "macaroni" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "macaroni" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "macaroni" is acting as adj, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "beau" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "macaroni", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of pasta in the form of short tubes, typically boiled and served in soup, with a sauce, or in melted cheese; a dish of this. uncountable
"Take half a pound of small pipe-macaroni."
- 2 A macaroon. obsolete
"Macaroni. It comes from Italy. It is a biscuit made of almonds, eggs, flower, and sugar."
- 3 pasta in the form of slender tubes wordnet
- 4 Pasta, particularly thicker noodles, spaghetti. broadly, informal, obsolete, uncountable
"Paste made into strings like pack-thread or thongs of whit-leather (which if greater they call Macaroni, if lesser Vermicelli) they cut in pieces and put in their pots as we do oat-meal to make their menestra or broth of."
- 5 a British dandy in the 18th century who affected Continental mannerisms wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 Synonym of gnocchi (“Italian dumpling made of potato or semolina”). obsolete, uncountable
"Maccaróni, a kind of meat made of round peeces of paste, boyled in water and put into a dish with butter, spice and grated-cheese vpon them."
- 7 A dandy or fop, particularly in the 18th century a young Englishman who had travelled in Europe and subsequently dressed and spoke in an ostentatiously affected Continental manner. countable, derogatory, historical
"... the Maccaroni Club (which is composed of all the travelled young men who wear long curls and spying-glasses) ..."
- 8 A 19th-century quarter-silver dollar coin, typically a full 2-real coin or a quarter clipping of an 8-real coin from Central or South America. Caribbean, countable, historical
"The silver coins are dollars (6s. 8d.), half dollars, and quarter dollars, or maccaronies as they are here popularly called."
- 9 Ellipsis of macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus). abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis
"15 penguins were hatched and reared in the Edinburgh Zoo—seven kings, four gentoos, three maccaronis, and one ringed."
- 10 Synonym of Italian (“a person from Italy or of Italian ethnicity”). countable, ethnic, slur
"Surely I shall always be able, go where I will, among frogs or maccaronis, to procure sucre noir, or inchiostro nero."
- 11 Ellipsis of macaroni tool. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, obsolete
"Now take the maccaroni and cut away the wood on either side of the vein..."
- 12 Synonym of lizard canary. Scotland, countable, obsolete
"Lizards are known among Scotchmen as ‘macaronies’."
- 13 A mix of languages in macaronic verse. obsolete, uncountable
"... political songs in Latin or in a maccaroni of Latin and English ..."
- 14 Nonsense; meaningless talk. Australia, slang, uncountable
"Yes. Jam, macaroni, cockadoodle. We're plain people out hereaways, not mantle ornaments."
Adjective
- 1 Chic, fashionable, stylish; in the manner of a macaroni. historical
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Cover the macaroni fully with water."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "macaroni"?
Common synonyms include: beau, beau brummel, blade, blood, boulevardier, buck.
How do you use "macaroni" in a sentence?
Cover the macaroni fully with water.
How do you pronounce "macaroni"?
Pronounced /ˌmækəˈɹoʊni/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Italian maccaroni (plural of maccarone (archaic variant of maccheroni (“fool”))), of uncertain origin. Variously derived from late Byzantine Greek μακαρία (makaría, “food made from barley”), from Ancient Greek μάκαρ (mákar, “blessed; favored by the gods”), or from maccare (archaic variant of ammaccare (“to bruise; to crush”)), from Latin maccāre of the same meaning. Compare Sicilian maccarruni (“a single piece of macaroni”). * As a fop, apparently from the British Macaroni Club rather than from Italian use of maccarone for fools and bumpkins. * As a former form of currency, used to calque Spanish macuquino (18th-century colonial slang for a similarly clipped coin).
Etymology 2
From French macaron. Doublet of macaron.