doughnut

noun

dough·​nut ˈdō-(ˌ)nət How to pronounce doughnut (audio)
variants or less commonly
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 adjective

Examples of doughnut in a Sentence

drawing doughnuts in the sand
Recent Examples on the Web Ecto-Sprinkled Doughnut: An Original Glazed doughnut dipped in orange colored icing, topped with neon sprinkles. Ray Padilla, The Courier-Journal, 7 Oct. 2024 An unglazed doughnut is full of lemon filling and dipped in purple icing. Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 7 Oct. 2024 The new doughnuts will launch Monday and will be available for a limited time. Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 7 Oct. 2024 The iconic doughnut shop on Woodward Ave., with the blue awning is honoring its past and bringing back a long-standing tradition. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 19 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for doughnut 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'doughnut.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of doughnut was in 1782

Dictionary Entries Near doughnut

Cite this Entry

“Doughnut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doughnut. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on doughnut

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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