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

The doughnuts are available in-shop and for pickup or delivery via Krispy Kreme's app or website, individually and by the dozen. — Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026

Tunnel Tops also features a casual cafe, bar and pizzeria called Il Parco, as well as a rotating convoy of more than two dozen food trucks, serving everything from birria to doughnuts to poke. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026

No purchase is required, and free doughnuts are limited to one per person, according to a news release. — Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

Dealing with businesses along the track is often the most contentious part of the planning, but the only businesses along the course — a steakhouse and a doughnut shop — were amenable. — Adam Kilgore, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

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

Phrases Containing doughnut

• doughnut hole

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