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doodle

doodle

6 2.6
A quick, simple drawing made without thinking, often during a meeting
  • noun
  • /ˈduːdəl/
: garabato
  • Her notebooks featured writing and doodles produced with colored pens.

And this book also has my little doodles in it.

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Examples

  • The page is filled with nothing but doodles and scrawls.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • And this book also has my little doodles in it.

  • There's a doodle on it as well, Jim.

  • This actually features a doodle from Caleb, our artist in residence.

  • Some drawings were later realized as sculptures, while others remained as doodles on restaurant placemats and napkins.

    Academic text (2004)
  • She often fills the margins of her notes with doodles while listening to lectures.

  • His notebook was filled with playful doodles that captured his imagination during long meetings.

  • While waiting for the bus, I distracted myself by making doodles on an old receipt.

Synonyms

sketch
vsdoodle
222 2.5

A quick simple drawing used to plan an idea

is made without particular purpose, often when attention drifts
drawing
vsdoodle
200 1.0

A picture made by hand with a pen or pencil

is a casual purposeless mark made while attention is elsewhere
scribble
vsdoodle
10 3.5

A quick, careless drawing made without much thought

is done while attention is elsewhere rather than merely sloppy marks
scribbling
vsdoodle
3 3.5

Messy, quick writing or drawing that is hard to read and has little meaning

is produced while attention is elsewhere rather than focused on legibility
scrabble
vsdoodle
2 8.4

A quick rough drawing made without thinking

is made while attention is elsewhere rather than as intentional work

Idioms

holy doodle
  • Informal
9.9

A word people say to show strong surprise

Compounds

Yankee-Doodle
  • Offensive
5 9.6

A person from the United States who people from other countries often call jokingly or rudely

How Deliberate

masterpiece
147 3.8
painting
131 1.2
sketch
222 2.5
drawing
200 1.0
doodle
6 2.6
scribble
10 3.5

Surface Forms

doodle singular
doodles plural

Etymology

Doodle for a small drawing comes from the same idea of 'simple' or 'foolish' marks, as in Yankee Doodle, so a doodle is a quick, careless picture you make when you are bored or not fully paying attention.