Which pasta name refers to a thicker form of spaghetti?

The pasta name that refers to a thicker form of spaghetti is spaghettoni.

The name follows a useful Italian pasta naming pattern. The suffix “-oni” is an augmentative, suggesting something larger or thicker, while “-ini” is diminutive. Thus, spaghettoni is thicker than standard spaghetti, and spaghettini is thinner.

Spaghettoni remains a long, solid, cylindrical pasta rather than a hollow tube. That distinction separates it from bucatini, which resembles thick spaghetti but has a hole running through its center. Fettuccine and linguine are also different: both are flattened ribbon pastas, not round strands.

Because the thicker strands take longer to cook and have a more substantial bite, they work especially well with robust sauces. They are still prepared like spaghetti, usually in salted boiling water and commonly served al dente. The word “spaghetti” itself is the plural of Italian spaghetto, meaning a small length of string or twine.