doughnut hole

noun

variants or donut hole

plural doughnut holes or donut holes

1

: a small ball-shaped doughnut

Dip each doughnut hole into the melted butter, then roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until fully coated.

—Lou Ann Thompson

… ordered a container of donut holes with chocolate icing and rainbow sprinkles …

—Victoria Ritter

2

usually donut hole US : a coverage gap (see coverage sense 1a) for prescription drugs for people with Medicare drug insurance plans wherein the beneficiary pays much more for their prescriptions after exceeding an initial coverage limit and until reaching a yearly limit at which time the beneficiary pays much less or nothing for their prescriptions

… the donut hole is a phase of Part D coverage when you owe up to 25% of the cost of medications rather than your plan's copays and/or coinsurance.

—Alex Rosenberg

Note: The donut hole was eliminated at the end of 2024 by the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Biden in 2022.

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined at sense 1