What does "spaghettification" mean?

The gravitational stretching of objects into long, thin shapes, usually near a black hole.

What is a synonym for "spaghettification"?

Common synonyms include: black hole, noodle effect.

Pronounced //spəˌɡɛtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən//.

//spəˌɡɛtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The gravitational stretching of objects into long, thin shapes, usually near a black hole. uncountable
"Spaghettification was due to gravity intensifying, metre by metre, in the approach to a black hole."
2
The act of turning something into long, thin strands like spaghetti. rare, uncountable
"We'll have to make do with twisting the nose and nears,^([sic – meaning ears?']) with removal of the tongue and extraction of the teeth, laceration of the posterior, hacking to pieces of the spinal marrow and the partial or total spaghettification of the brain through the heels."
3
Failure in which extruded filament forms tangled, stringy, or chaotic strands instead of the intended structure, often due to adhesion issues, improper settings, or printer malfunction. uncountable

"Spaghettification was due to gravity intensifying, metre by metre, in the approach to a black hole."

From spaghetti + -ification (suffix meaning ‘the process of becoming’ forming nouns), alluding to the appearance of a strand of spaghetti.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.