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

The bakery marinates chicken thighs with a lemongrass and Thai-chili mix, then stuffs it in dough with pepper-jack cheese. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026

Whit’s Frozen Custard is known for its flavor of the day calendar, with a rotating array of rich custards from s’mores and Key Lime pie to peanut butter cookie dough and German chocolate cake. — Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 10 Aug. 2026

There’s nothing like mixing up a batch of homemade cookies, only to discover the dough is too sticky to handle. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 10 Aug. 2026

Use that as your cue to open the lid, push the dough to the side of the bucket, and carefully lift out the paddles. — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Aug. 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
• beaut
• beaux
• blow
• 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