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

Enjoy your walk, then pop into the Boston Public Market for a hot drink and a cider doughnut. —Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2026

Bites, brews and barbecue 🍩 A widely popular local doughnut business opened its first brick-and-mortar shop over the weekend after years of drawing huge lines to farmers markets for its famed sourdough treats. —Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2026

This year, customers can get their doughnut holes in special Valentine’s Day Munchkins Tins. —Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026

But the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group isn’t giving up on the space that’s served fresh doughnuts since December 2018. —Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 27 Jan. 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

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