spaghetti
n. C / Un. long, thin pieces of pasta that look like strings. You usually boil them in water and serve them with a sauce.
n. a variety of pasta made in long, slender, solid strings. Uncountable when referring to the food as a mass; countable when referring to specific types or dishes.
I am cooking spaghetti for dinner tonight.
The waiter brought a large bowl of spaghetti topped with fresh tomato sauce and basil.
While many regions in Italy claim their own signature pasta, spaghetti remains the most internationally recognized shape, often paired with simple oil-based or tomato-based sauces.
The noun is borrowed from Italian spaghetti, the plural of spaghetto (“dish of spaghetti; (rare) strand of spaghetti”), from spago (“cord, string, twine; thread”) + -etto (diminutive suffix). Spago is derived from Latin spagus (“twine”), probably from Ancient Greek σφάκος (sphákos, “apple sage (Salvia pomifera)”), probably from Pre-Greek. The verb is derived from the noun.
Uncountable in its general sense as a food item; behaves as a countable noun when referring to specific varieties or menu items.
I want three spaghettisI want some spaghettiSpaghetti is usually uncountable; you cannot use a number directly with it unless referring to specific dishes.