DEI Document In Thousands	3 Months Ended
Jul. 30, 2011	Aug. 30, 2011
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	METHODE ELECTRONICS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000065270
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--04-28
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jul. 30, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		37,020,890

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The type of document being provided (such as 10-K, 10-Q, N-1A, etc). The document type is limited to the same value as the supporting SEC submission type, minus any "/A" suffix. The acceptable values are as follows: S-1, S-3, S-4, S-11, F-1, F-3, F-4, F-9, F-10, 6-K, 8-K, 10, 10-K, 10-Q, 20-F, 40-F, N-1A, 485BPOS, 497, NCSR, N-CSR, N-CSRS, N-Q, 10-KT, 10-QT, 20-FT, and Other.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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Indicate whether the registrant is one of the following: (1) Large Accelerated Filer, (2) Accelerated Filer, (3) Non-accelerated Filer, or (4) Smaller Reporting Company. Definitions of these categories are stated in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. This information should be based on the registrant's current or most recent filing containing the related disclosure.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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