doughnut

noun

dough·​nut ˈdō-(ˌ)nət 

variants or less commonly donut

1

: a small usually ring-shaped piece of sweet fried dough

2

: something (such as a mathematical torus) that has a round shape like a doughnut

3

: a controlled skid that sends an automobile into a tight circle of at least 360 degrees

—usually used in the phrase do doughnuts

Doing doughnuts? You haven't heard about this? This is what they steal the cars for. Top speed, they slam on the brakes, yank the emergency brake, twist the steering wheel, and the car starts spinning. Wheeling the car in circles at tremendous speeds.

—Philip Roth

doughnutlike

ˈdō-(ˌ)nət-ˌlīk 

adjective

Examples of doughnut in a Sentence

drawing doughnuts in the sand

Recent Examples on the Web

See available doughnuts, lattes Does Ghirardelli have a store location in the Louisville area? —Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 3 Sep. 2025

The day following a win, King Soopers is giving all fans a free doughnut. —Laura Daily, Denver Post, 1 Sep. 2025

Another night might be built around Balinese-style suckling pig with turmeric rice, aubergine stir-fried with chilli, and banana doughnuts rolled in coconut curd and cinnamon sugar. —Lela London, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025

His pike made a swift, powerhouse dive under the raft itself and wrapped the rod around the side of the doughnut so hard that the inflated rubber cylinder thrummed like a drum. —Ben East, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

dough + nut entry 1 (in sense "rounded cake or biscuit," as in ginger nut, spice nut)

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for doughnut

• abut
• catgut
• chesnut
• chestnut
• donut
• groundnut
• haircut
• hindgut
• midgut
• precut
• rebut
• recut

Kids Definition

doughnut

noun

dough·​nut

variants also donut

-(ˌ)nət

1

: a small ring of sweet dough fried in fat

2

: something resembling a doughnut especially in shape