dough

noun

ˈdō 

1

: a mixture that consists essentially of flour or meal and a liquid (such as milk or water) and is stiff enough to knead or roll

2

: something resembling dough especially in consistency

3

: money

doesn't have much dough

4

military : doughboy

doughlike

ˈdō-ˌlīk 

adjective

Synonyms of dough

• money
• cash
• coin
• currency

Examples of dough in a Sentence

I don't have much dough.

didn't have to spend a lot of dough for a new stereo

Recent Examples on the Web

Reese had shown Martin a recipe for a chicken-and-waffles croissant that was shaped, interestingly, like a couch, with the rising dough creating the cushions. —Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 6 Feb. 2026

Resting allows the flour to hydrate, the dough to firm up, and the flavors to meld and deepen, yielding superior results. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 6 Feb. 2026

It’s now called the chocolate pistachio kouign amann, and instead of phyllo dough, his bakery uses toasted shards of kouign amann. —Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026

Guests will learn how to make UNO’s iconic deep dish pizza from scratch, guided by experienced chefs from dough preparation to topping selection. —Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English doh, dogh, dowe, going back to Old English dāg, going back to Germanic *daiga- (whence Middle Dutch deech "dough," Old High German teig, Old Norse deig, deigr, Gothic daigs), ablaut derivative from the base of *digan-, *dīgan- "to knead, shape" (whence Gothic digan, gadigan "to knead, form from clay"), going back to Indo-European *d^hei̯ǵ^h- "knead, shape" — more at feign

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dough

• dough box
• mother dough
• rolling in (the) dough

Rhymes for dough

• beau
• beaux
• blow
• boe
• bro
• coe
• crow
• doe
• doh
• eau
• eaux
• faux

Kids Definition

dough

noun

ˈdō 

1

: a soft mass of moistened flour or meal thick enough to knead or roll

2

: something resembling dough especially in consistency

3

: money sense 1a

doughy

ˈdō-ē

adjective