Spaghettification spuh-geht-tih-fuh-KEHY-shun n. The stretching that occurs as an object approaches a black hole or other superdense body. This "noodle effect," as it is also known, is caused by the same gravitational effect that generates tides on Earth. A massive body pulls harder on the side of an object nearest it, and in the case of a black hole this force stretches an incoming body into a long, thin strand (shown, left to right). "Spaghettification" was officially recognized by the American Heritage Dictionary in November. Physicists, though, have been fond of the term for decades.
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